Watching Your Six
by Richefic
Summary: When an unexpected death means Tony has to face his estranged father Gibbs is determined that he won't have to fight this battle alone. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – If they were mine I would be much richer than this and there might actually be some point in suing me.

AN – This is my first NCIS fic and I'm very new to the series. Here in England us terrestrial TV people are only on season one. For the rest I have to rely on episode guides. So constructive criticism is welcome but please be kind. I wouldn't have written it, except it just wouldn't leave me alone!

* * *

From the moment Tony had flung himself out of bed that morning he had known this wasn't going to be a good day. A quick shower, a shave and only the barest nod in the direction of his usual thirty-minute grooming routine left him vulnerable to Kate's smirk as hair askew and a good twenty minutes late he edged warily out of the elevator.

"What did she do, DiNozzio? Hide your hair mousse?"

"Hair mousse?" He blinked, momentarily distracted, before running a self-conscious hand through his hair. "Bad?"

The shifting of her expression warned him that Gibbs had walked up behind him, seconds before his Boss spoke. "Something wrong with your alarm clock DiNozzio?"

"No, Boss," DiNozzio squared his shoulders and turned to face him. He knew from experience that with Gibbs honesty was always the best policy. Not least because the man always seemed to know when he was lying. "My alarm clock was working perfectly. I just slept through it."

"You _slept_ through it?" Gibbs gaze narrowed.

"Yes, Boss."

Behind him Tony was acutely aware of Kate pretending to work on her computer as she waited to see how Gibbs would react to his admission. No doubt half hoping that he would ream him out right there and then. Frankly Tony might have preferred that to the way that Gibbs was looking at him, as if he could practically see through him.

"You're late tomorrow and you're fired," Gibb informed him curtly. "Now, see if you can pull up something on our current case. I'm going to see what Abby has."

"I'm on it, Boss."

"That's it?" Kate burst out, as soon as Gibbs was safely in the elevator. "What the hell happened to the second B?"

"What can I say?" Tony quipped, despite the hollow feeling in his stomach, because he knew she expected it. "He keeps me around for my dazzling personality."

Anyone with hearing less acute than his probably wouldn't have picked up her muttered retort. So, for once, he felt at liberty to ignore it. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. Like proving to a certain ex-marine gunnery sergeant that hiring him had indeed been a good idea at the time.

* * *

Nine hours later he was beginning to revise his own assessment. His mind really wasn't on the job and in his distraction he had spent the day lurching from one screw up to another, almost shrinking in his seat as Gibbs' jaw clenched tighter and tighter at each rookie mistake. And the worst part was he didn't smack him on the head. Not once.

Which was how Tony knew he was really in trouble.

"Alright, everyone, go home." Gibbs ordered at last. The case was closed and the reports were in. They could all enjoy some downtime until the next case arose.

With a collective murmur of relief everyone began turning off their computers and collecting together their bags, as they moved towards the elevator. Kate got there first, simply because her desk was the closest, although that didn't stop her tossing a gloating look over her shoulder at her colleagues.

"Not you DiNozzio."

At Gibbs terse command Kate's face twisted into a semi sympathetic smile, like a sibling who knew that someone else was gonna get it but was as glad as hell it wasn't them. Dropping his backpack and turning to face his Boss DiNozzio waited for the storm to break.

"Alright, what's going on?"

The tone was brusque and the blue eyes that fixed him in place told him he'd better have a dammed good reason for being such a liability today. Tony mentally winced and briefly calculated the wisdom of saying that everything was just fine. Except, he knew that Gibbs knew that he usually didn't have any problem checking his private issues at the door.

"I um," he hesitated. Why was this so dammed hard? "I need a personal day, Boss."

"You sick, DiNozzio?"

The tone was brusque, but the eyes were flecked with concern.

"Um, no, I, um, have to go to a funeral."

Gibbs expression didn't change, but his posture altered slightly as he pushed back from the desk a little and nodded at the chair to his right.

"Sit."

"What am I? A dog?" Dinozzio muttered under his breath, even as he instinctively obeyed. But he couldn't meet Gibbs eyes as the man perused him closely.

"Who died?"

"Not my father." The words came out as a hollow laugh, knowing that was what Gibbs was thinking. Ironic really. If it had been his father they were burying then at least he wouldn't have had to worry about facing him at the service. "Its his sister. My Aunt Teresa."

"The one who took you to pro games and introduced you to classic movies?" Gibbs gaze sharpened.

Tony nodded silently. After his mother had died his Aunt Teresa had done what she could to ease the growing tension between him and his father and afterwards when his father had sliced him out of his will and his life _and his heart_, he'd once, during a particularly harrying case involving child neglect, admitted to Gibbs that that she had been his lifeline to something approaching normal life.

"When's the funeral?" Gibbs interrupted his thoughts.

"Um, Thursday. In Las Vegas."

"Alright." Gibbs nodded.

"Boss?"

"You can have your personal day. Leave it with me, I'll square it with the Director."

"Right, thanks, Boss."

As DiNozzio lifted himself out of the chair and made his way towards the elevator and reached up to press the button he wondered why he felt oddly disappointed. He had got what he wanted, hadn't he?

* * *

Early the next morning he was woken from a not so restful sleep by the incessant ringing of his cell phone. Torn from his bad dreams he fumbled blearily for the hand set on his side table, before bringing it to his ear.

"DiNozzio."

"Pack a bag," Gibbs curt tones informed him. "I'll be by to pick you up in twenty minutes. _Don't_ be late."

"Not another road trip, Boss," he groaned. "Didn't you sign that requisition I put in for a private jet?"

"Thirty-six cents a mile." Gibbs reminded him, before he hung up.

Eighteen minutes later he came out onto the sidewalk just as Gibbs screeched to a halt.

"Trying to beat your best time again, Boss?" He quipped, hoping to distract Gibbs from the dark circles under his eyes. It was a good job he used an electric razor, otherwise he had no doubt he would also be sporting a nick on his chin from shaving with shaking hands.

"Not trying. Succeeding," Gibbs gave him a cursory glance before turning his attention back to the road. "Sleep well?"

So much for distraction.

"If by well, you meaning tossing and turning all night whist being tortured by nightmares I can't remember, then yeah Boss, I slept very well, thanks for asking." Tony didn't see any point in lying about the obvious.

"You sure?" Gibbs asked, as he took the corner sharply, tipping the car onto two wheels.

"Yeah, pretty sure," Tony nodded fervently. "Um, about what exactly?"

"That you can't remember." Gibbs asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Nothing that would stand up in court," Tony rubbed at the bridge of his nose and changed the subject. "So, where are we going?"

"Here." Gibbs reached over into the back seat and snagged a folder, which he dropped into Tony's lap.

Opening the folder, he expected to see details of their latest case, instead his eyes widened as a pair of conference brochures full into his lap.

"Aw Boss, not another training seminar. Didn't we just do one of these things with Human Resources?"

"According to the Director the problem was we didn't actually _do_ it."

"Hey, it said all agents not working active cases," Tony read the subject of the seminar. "Um, Boss. This thing is about advances in security technology."

"Don't say anything, DiNozzio." Gibbs growled.

"I wasn't going to," Tony assured him, all too familiar with Gibbs dislike of technology. "I was just thinking it."

"Well don't."

"You know," DiNozzio speculated. "We should really get a geek to deal with this kinda thing."

"I'll send the Director a memo," Gibbs agreed. "In the meantime, we're going."

"Um, Boss," DiNozzio bit his lip as he read further down the page. "It says here that this thing runs from Wednesday through Friday."

"You have a problem with that DiNozzio?"

Tony gave him a sharp look, wondering if going to the seminar with a bored and pissed off Gibbs was some kind of punishment for his recent screw-ups. But he had never known Gibbs to go back on his word and Gibbs had said he would square it, so he looked more closely at the seminar information. And swallowed hard.

"Vegas?" His head snapped up, just as Gibbs signalled for the turnoff for the airport. "We're going to Vegas? Together?"


	2. Chapter 2

AN – Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm sorry about the spelling of DiNozzo in chapter one. Its not like I haven't seen it written down hundreds of times but I'm dyslexic so sometimes I just see things that just aren't there!

* * *

To the world that swarmed around him in the busy departure lounge Gibbs gave every impression of being totally absorbed by his newspaper and his extra large coffee. In truth his attention was firmly focused on his young Agent who was flirting, a little too obviously, with a blonde flight attendant in a very short skirt. Inwardly, Gibbs sighed. He knew DiNozzo was anxious about seeing his father again. But empty distractions would only make him feel even more worthless. What he needed was focus and a sense of purpose.

"So, did you get her number?" Gibbs murmured, without looking up, as he felt DiNozzo flop into the seat beside him.

"You even need to ask?" Tony sounded smug

"When you're doing it on agency time I do," Gibbs reprimanded mildly. "This is not a field trip DiNozzo."

"Just practising my skills Boss. A well trained NCIS Agent is good at extracting information."

A ghost of a smile drifted across Gibbs face as he acknowledged that. Still.

"She in the service Tony?"

"Um. She's wearing a navy blue uniform?"

The smack upside his head wasn't entirely unexpected.

"Here," Gibbs reached into his bag and pulled out a brown folder. "Make yourself useful and look through that."

"I thought we didn't have anything current."

"Cold case," Gibbs took a gulp of his coffee. "One I've been trying to figure out for a good long while now."

DiNozzo could understand that. He knew how much it grated when he couldn't close a case. He remembered the first time Gibbs had caught him looking over one of his old cases from his days in Homicide in Baltimore. He'd expected a swat for goofing off when he should have been catching up on his paperwork. Instead, Gibbs had pulled up a chair and gone through the evidence with him, helping him to look at everything from a new angle. He still hadn't closed that one yet. Wasn't going tostop him from trying though.

"So, is this the victim or the suspect?"

"You tell me."

"You want me to profile them?" DiNozzo frowned. "Isn't that more Kate's line of work?"

"You see Kate anywhere around here?"

"I'm on it, Boss."

Settling back Tony opened the folder and started leafing through the papers. And frowned, no picture, no service history and the biography was obviously incomplete. Names, dates and places had been efficiently censored.

"Um, Boss. There's not much here. Just some testimonials and stuff."

Gibbs raised his head and fixed him with a level gaze. "If the information was freely available DiNozzo, don't you think I'd have solved the case before now?"

"Right," DiNozzo ducked his head. "I'll just be sitting here reading Boss."

* * *

They were several thousand feet up and about thirty minutes out of Las Vegas when DiNozzo finally sat back and closed the file with a frustrated sigh. Gibbs hid his satisfaction. The dazzling smiles and casual charm might be as natural to him as breathing but underneath that DiNozzo was a dammed good investigator. And this case was definitely an enigma.

"Well?"

"Well, if he's a murderer I will personally come to work in one of Kate's suits. Like Tony Curtis in Some Like It Hot. I'll even wear the heels."

"The scary thing is DiNozzo, you would probably look even better in them than she does."

"I have been told I have great legs," Tony agreed, before sliding Gibbs a look. "_Even_ better, Boss?"

"Kate has nice legs. Not in your league of course .."

Tony opened his mouth to make a comment. Then closed it again as he realised he didn't know exactly how to take that. Was Gibbs suggesting that Kate was out of his league? And was he still thinking about physical attractiveness or did he think that a former Secret Service Agent was simply smarter than a former cop?

He could ask but then he might find out the answer.

"DiNozzo, stop resting on your laurels and tell me the rest of it." Gibbs' voice demanded.

"What?" DiNozzo stared at him, thoroughly distracted.

"You were right, he's not the suspect, now tell me the rest."

Automatically focusing his attention at Gibbs order DiNozzo glanced down briefly to gather his thoughts before replying.

"Well, according to this the guy was close to perfect. His SATS were in the top 95 of the whole country. He won a Sports Scholarship to College. Graduated second in his class from the Academy – I'm guessing that must be Annapolis, right? And these testimonials are pretty glowing stuff. If there is a problem here, I'm not seeing it."

"So, he was a high achiever, respected by his employers and well liked by his co-workers?" Gibbs summarized. "None of this sound the least bit familiar to you DiNozzo?"

"I'm thinking he might be an ideal blind date for Kate."

"You really don't see it, do you?" Gibbs sighed.

"Um," Tony resisted the urge to flick through the papers to see what it was that he had overlooked. "See, what exactly Boss?"

"The guys not dead, Tony. He's you."

* * *

Tony waited until they had checked into the Hotel, too emotionally off kilter to even think of charming the receptionist into upgrading them from the two standard rooms booked for the conference and too busy reeling from Gibbs' revelation to notice or care what threats of death or violence his Boss employed to get them moved when their allocated accommodation turned out to be either side of the service elevator.

Still the suite was pretty nice.

And the bowl of fruit and the champagne was a neat touch.

All things considered though the flowers were probably going a _bit _too far.

"You OK?" Gibbs asked.

Tony looked around and realised that they were alone in the suite and that he hadn't said a word since they had got off the plane. Which even he had to admit was pretty out of character.

"Yeah, sure."

"Alright," Gibbs didn't look convinced. But he didn't press it. "I'm going to take a shower."

Not until he heard the water running in the shower and knew that Gibbs was safely occupied, did Tony dare pull out the folder again and cast his eyes over the various missives, almost tracing the words with his fingers. Now he knew he could see it. But who could blame him? He had always thought that his High School Principal hated his guts. His Coach in College had never done anything but yell at him to go faster or jump higher. And he had been _totally_ convinced that if his instructor at the Police Academy had had his way they would never have found his body. Not to mention he'd always assumed that Petoria, Philly and Baltimore had been glad to see the back of him. How could they all have written about him in such glowing terms?

"I left one out."

He looked up to the realisation that the water had stopped running and that Gibbs, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, his hair sticking up and a towel draped around his neck was sitting himself on the couch next to him. With shaking fingers he reached out to take the hand written memo Gibbs held out to him, instantly recognising the familiar scrawl.

"Boss?"

"Just read it, Tony."

Like the others, names, places and dates, were blacked out, but certain words "Outstanding" "Brilliant." "Dedication." "Good instincts." "Courage under fire." leapt out at him. He swallowed hard.

"You know why I smack you upside the head, DiNozzo?"

_Because you never let me get away with being less than I can be. Because I think maybe you are trying to do a better job of raising me than either of my parents managed. To remind me that you care what I do. _He couldn't say any of that though. Perhaps, if he had been lying on the wet ground, struggling for breath as the EMTs tried to stem the lifeblood from gushing out of him, but not here surrounded by overstuffed cushions, Egyptian cotton throws and Chinese silk hangings. So, he did the best he could. Not looking at Gibbs as he said it.

"Yeah, Boss. I know."

"Denial can be a good thing, Tony. It helps us lock away so parts of life we can't deal with on a daily basis so we function," Gibbs sighed quietly. "Believe me, I've been there. But if you are ever going to get past that then you have to stop focusing on what you were and think about what you've become. When we walk into that funeral together I want my Lead Field Agent at my side. You got that?

"Yes Boss." Tony nodded.

And for the very first time he began to think that he might even get through this.


	3. Chapter 3

AN – Thank you so much for the reviews I am delighted that people are enjoying the story. One review asked me if this was going to be a Tony/Gibbs story. Much as I love the dynamic between them I'm afraid I don't write slash. I'm sorry if this disappoints.

* * *

Tony emerged from his own shower, dressed in a Baltimore PD T-Shirt and a pair of sweats, to see Gibbs paying off the Pizza delivery boy at the door.

"I thought we'd eat in. You mind?"

Tony inhaled. "Pepperoni, sausage and extra cheese? How could I mind?"

"DiNozzo, I don't care how observant you are there is no way you can tell that from just the smell." Gibbs carried the box into the lounge area, leaving DiNozzo to trail after him.

"Of course not, Boss, I just know that .." Tony switched focus. "You really think that?"

Gibbs hid his smile as he made his way towards the couch. Trust DiNozzo to pick up on the 'observant' comment.

"Can I haveit in writing?" DiNozzo pressed.

"No."

"On tape?"

"Not a chance."

"In front of witnesses?"

"Only if you are unconscious."

"Fine, I'll tell Abby, then she can tape it." Satisfied, DiNozzo took the box from him, sank down on the couch and opened it, pulling out a slice of pizza and proceeding to chew happily.

"There's beer in the bar," Gibbs offered, as he settled beside him. "Or we could break open that bottle of Jack?"

"No," Tony tensed slightly. "I'm fine."

Gibbs sighed. He wasn't good with words. Not anymore. It was one of the reasons he had ex-wives. But he'd never had any problem with actions. Levering himself to his feet he crossed to the well stocked bar and picked up the bottle of Jack and two glasses and carried then back to the couch, settling all three down with a clink on the glass coffee table. Without a word he broke the seal on the bottle of Jack and poured a generous measure into each glass.

"You are not your father." he said quietly, holding out a glass.

Tony hesitated, but finally reached out, his fingers curling around the glass. "Thanks."

"You don't usually have a problem." Gibbs observed, as he picked up his own glass and sat back.

"No," Tony agreed, taking a sip of the amber liquid, feeling its comforting burn ease the tightness in his throat. "I'm not usually thinking about him either."

"He drink a lot?"

"Its not in my file?"

"I can't have a conversation with your file."

"Every evening, on a good day. On a bad day, it was just better to be off his radar."

Something about the way he said that caused Gibbs' gut to twist. He gave DiNozzo a mild sideways glance as he asked. "He hit you?"

"Usually he was too busy working to even notice what I did." Tony shook his head.

Anyone else might have missed it. The tone was so casual, so unconcerned, it even sounded like Tony had answered in the negative. Gibbs reached over and took a piece of Pizza, chewing slowly and swallowing before he spoke.

"Usually?"

"He broke my nose once," Tony shrugged. "I had it fixed when I was in College. They showed me all these pictures of noses and told me they belonged to different movies stars. Turned out the one I picked belonged to Melanie Griffith."

"It's a good look on you."

"Thanks, I thought so."

"How old were you?"

"I was twelve. My Principal wanted to enter me into programme for academic achievers. He wanted me to ship me off to boarding school so I could concentrate on Sports. He figured I'd be more popular and meet more of the right people that way. Marry the right girl. Learn the right social skills. We fought. He won. I lost."

"Really? You'll have to introduce me to her sometime."

"Who?"

"This society girl you married."

"Oh. Right. Got it Boss." DiNozzo smiled. Maybe he had won that round after all.

"You gonna eat that?" Gibbs waved at the Pizza Box.

"Yeah, sure." DiNozzo snatched up the last slice and began stuffing it into his mouth in a manner that would make the genteel folk at the country club recoil in horror.

"And you're two for two." Gibbs murmured.

* * *

Tony woke to find that he had fallen asleep on the couch and that someone had thrown the comforter from his bed over him. Blinking slightly he tried to remember what had happened the night before and was relieved to see that the bottle of Jack on the coffee table was still two thirds full. Gibbs was sitting on the floor near his shoulder, reading a book.

"There's coffee." Gibbs spoke without looking up.

"Tell me something I don't know." Tony rolled off the couch, wrapping the comforter around his shoulders and padding towards the kitchen area, rotating his neck slightly to work out some kinks.

"You talked about Stuart Warren in your sleep."

"Oh," Dinozzo filled a mug and took a long swallow, barely noticing as the hot liquid burnt its way down his throat. "I haven't done that in a while."

It had been one of his first cases at NCIS. A Marine intent on turning his slight, bookish, step-son into a real-man had taken the child out into the wilderness to teach him survival skills. On the final day of their trip he had dumped the boy with a compass and minimal supplies several miles from civilisation and told him to find his way back. Three days later a Hunter had come across the child's mauled body, still wearing his step-father's baseball cap, in the woods. The fate of the boy had haunted him for months afterwards.

"You better not be lying to me, DiNozzo."

"I swear," he brought his coffee back to the living area and sat on the coffee table so he could look Gibbs in the eyes. "I thought I was over that."

"I told you back then. Some things you never get over. You just learn to live with them better," Gibbs rose gracefully to his feet and padded barefoot over to the coffee machine. "Grab a shower. We have to go down for registration at 0900."

Afterwards, Tony was glad that some sixth sense warned his that this was definitely a suit day. The well cut jacket and nicely tailored pants earned him several admiring looks as they went out for breakfast and then lined up with the rest of the conference delegates for their badges and schedules for the day.

"Advances in Chemical and Biological Threat Detection?" DiNozzo read, as they settled into their seats for the first session. "Sounds like Abs kind of thing."

"You need Abby to tell you the difference between Anthrax and Athlete's foot power DiNozzo and you'd better start looking for another job." Gibbs growled, earning a shocked look from a female delegate settling into the seat on the other side of him.

"You'll have to excuse my Boss," DiNozzo leant over him to smile at her. "He doesn't like enemies he can't shoot."

* * *

Four hours later DiNozzo felt like he could recite every white power known to man. He rubbed his nose. All right, so the session hadn't been entirely useless, but no detective worth his salt would investigate a suspicious packet by simply _opening_ it.

"Why do they always say that?" He wondered out loud, trailing after Gibbs who already half way down the escalator as he made a beeline for the Starbucks in the lobby. "I mean, when they train us to look for suspicious packages they always say that the address might be misspell or wrong, right?" He plunged on, not waiting for an answer. "Well, how can that be? If a guy is smart enough to make a bomb he's got to be smart enough to figure how to write the address."

Gibbs gave him an odd look as he waited in line for his coffee.

"So, the funeral is tomorrow?"

"Yeah," DiNozzo sucked in a breath. He had been trying not to think about that. "There's a Funeral Mass at 10am, then a service at the graveside. I have the details back at the Hotel."

"Seems kind of short notice." Gibbs observed mildly.

"I wouldn't have known at all if an old buddy hadn't called Philly. Someone there got in touch."

"Your father didn't call?"

"Didn't call. Didn't tell me. Doesn't know I'm coming."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs fist clenched as,for once, heresisted the urge to smack the younger Agent. "You haven't seen him since you graduated College. You planning on just walking on in there?"

"Pretty much," DiNozzo paused. "That in my file?"

"No," Gibbs almost winced. He hadn't actually planned on letting that slip. "I spoke to your Aunt."

"Aunt Teresa called you?"

"About two months after you joined NCIS. She wanted to be sure that I'd give you a fair chance. For what's its worth I liked her. She was a feisty lady."

"Redhead." Tony's lips quirked a smile.

"Really?" Gibbs smiled as he placed his order and then paid for his coffee. "I wish I could have met her."

With unspoken accord they headed out towards the exit, in search of something better for lunch than the finger food provided by the conference organisers.

"Um, about that Boss. You know you don't have to come with me tomorrow."

"Yes, Tony. I do."

"Really? Thanks Boss. That .. um .. means a lot to me."

"Because if I have to sit through another of those techno geeks psycho babble lectures. I'm going to rip someone's head off."

"I knew that."

Gibbs hid his smile as he pushed open the heavy plate glass door, only to feel the hairs on the back of his neck go up at the sight of a large, expensive looking, black car parked at the kerb. As he watched the chauffer came around the car to open the door. Whentheoccupant emerged onto the sidewalk Gibbs didn't need Tony's gasp of surprise to recognise Anthony DiNozzo Snr.


	4. Chapter 4

AN- Thank you so much to everyone for all the positive reviews. I'm actually a little nervous now. I hope I can live up to people's expectations!

* * *

"I can't believe that you're eating that thing," Gibbs lifted his sunglasses, squinting slightly in the sunlight, to view the jumbo hot dog with distaste. "Didn't that autopsy Ducky showed you have any effect?"

"About as much as his 'coffee is not a food group lecture' had on you," Tony nodded at his Styrofoam cup. "Besides, that guy's arteries were ten years older than mine and he didn't work out as much as I do." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Tony, no man on this planet 'works out' as much as you do." Gibbs said dryly.

The worse part was, he was behaving as if nothing had happened. He knew that Kate thought DiNozzo was a shallow, skirt chaser, whose occasional flash of brilliance, didn't quite explain his presence as the Senior Field Agent on Gibbs' team. She had yet to work out that 95 of his life was an act. A fun act and one Tony certainly enjoyed, but it wasn't him. Most of the time Gibbs bought into the act, encouraged it even. Hell, he knew all about hiding in plain sight. But he never mistook it for the genuine article and Tony knew it. Which meant he must really be on the ropes if he was trying to get this crap past him.

"I need more coffee."

"We have to be back for the next session in five minutes." Tony reminded him.

"Why do you think I need more coffee?"

Leaving Tony on the sidewalk with his hot dog Gibbs ducked into the gloom of the convenience store and made his way to the coffee machine in the back. As soon as he was out of sight of the window he pulled out his cell phone.

"Jethro," Ducky's cultured tones greeted him. "How are you enjoying your sojourn in Las Vegas?"

"Tony wanted me to ride the Roller Coaster on top of the New York, New York, Hotel. He said it would give me some idea of what they go through when I drive," Knowing better than to give Mallard a chance to respond to that he quickly changed the subject. "So, how are things back there?"

"Agent Todd is a perfectly capable young woman and we have no current cases."

"Good. That's good."

"You didn't call to ask me that."

"He just walked straight past him," Gibbs burst out. "It was as if he wasn't there!"

"Ah, this would be young Anthony's father," Ducky surmised. "I take it there was no chance that he didn't see him?"

"No."

Gibbs didn't want to explain how DiNozzo Snr's gaze had drifted over the pedestrians on the sidewalk, looked directly at his son and then cut him dead without a word. Tony had said nothing but his eyes were anguished.

"Perhaps, he had some urgent appointment? Some pressing business that he couldn't postpone?" Ducky suggested. At Gibbs glowering silence he answered his own question. "No, no, of course not. What could be more important than speaking to his own son after so many years? Nonetheless, it could simply be a co-incidence that your paths crossed."

"You know how I feel about co-incidences."

"Even so, they do occasionally happen. I remember one time when I was on holiday in Hawaii. There I was just walking down the beach and who should I .."

"Duck, some other time?" Gibbs rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "We have to be back in a few minutes and I need .."

He trailed off as his eyes tracked the heavyset man, who had just entered the store. His movements seemed somehow 'off'. Snapping his phone shut Gibbs reached for his gun and moved forward. But it was already too late. Without warning the man snatched at a small girl buying candy near the till and held a gun to her head.

"Right! Nobody move!"

* * *

The first sign DiNozzo had of trouble was the woman's high-pitched scream. He threw the remains of his hot dog in the trash even as he popped his holster open and easing out his gun made his way over to the store, crouching by the door to survey the scene through the plate glass. A man was holding a little girl of about seven or eight, with a gun to her head, a woman, obviously the child's mother had broken into anguished sobs and a small circle of customers stood, frozen in shock, effectively blocking Gibbs chances of a clear shot.

"And you daren't move, because that guy looks jumpy as hell. Probably already seeing things that aren't there." He murmured.

With a sigh, he holstered his gun and stood up. If the gunman didn't kill him, Gibbs probably would. Pasting on a bright smile he pushed open the door.

"Hey, can anybody give me directions to the Elvis-a-rama?" He asked, vaguely aware of the circle of shocked faces and Gibbs narrowing eyes.He kepthis attention focused solely on the gunman. "Um, is this a bad time?"

"Get over there!" The man gestured with the gun. "All of you. Move back."

Slowly, numbly, the customers began to obey, a little old lady in a pair of sensible shoes taking the distraught mother by the arm and practically dragging her along. "Do as he says dear. Everything will be aright."

DiNozzo deliberately didn't move. Forcing the gunman to split his attention between him and the others.

"You too, Move! Or I shoot her."

Tony dropped all pretence as he caught the gunman's eyes and held them. "You don't want to do that. You see that man over there? He's an ex-Marine. Sniper. From this distance he could pick the wings off a fly. You so much as think about it and he'll drop you like a stone. You wanted a human shield you should have gone for someone taller, broader even." He shrugged.

He hoped that the gunman didn't know anything about trajectory because there was no way in hell that Gibbs could make the shot from there. _Come on. Come on _he willed as the man vacillated, looking wildly at Gibbs and then back to DiNozzo.

"Alright. You! Get over here."

"Everyone else gets to leave." Tony insisted.

His calm assurance buffeted the gunman. Already made nervous by the crowd of onlookers he didn't realise he was being played. To Tony's relief the exchange went smoothly, the gunman pushing the little girl towards her mother's arms and the little knot of customers shuffled out of the door. As he'd expected Gibbs took advantage of the general movement to change his position. Even as he felt the thick fingers close around his throat Tony felt some of his tension ease. Whatever happened now, Gibbs would take this guy out before any civilians got hurt.

"Drop the gun."

Although, having the Sig levelled with such fury and determination in his direction, wasn't _entirely_ comforting.

"If I was you, I'd do as he says," Tony kept his tone light. "He's already mad at me. Frankly, he won't much care if you do shoot me. It will save him the trouble."

"Dammed straight, DiNozzo," Gibbs didn't bother to keep the censure from his voice. "What the hell were you thinking? Walking in on a crime scene like that? You should have called for backup."

"Sorry, Boss. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"You set me up," The man realised. "You guys are cops."

"You set yourself up when you came in here waving a gun," Gibbs told him shortly. "Now drop it or I drop you."

"Actually, we're NCIS," Tony offered conversationally. "You've probably heard of us. It stands for .."

"You think I won't do it?" The gunman growled, as he pressed the barrel of the gun to DiNozzo's temple. "Think again." He nodded up at the CCTV in the corner. "It'll be the lead story on the evening news. Make your Momma weep."

From the back of his mind DiNozzo dredged up the classes on criminal phychology that he had taken when studying to be a Detective. "Actually, my Mom died when I was a kid. My father hasn't spoken to me in years. I'm an only child and I'm in town for my Aunt's funeral. You know, I think she was the only one who ever really loved me .."

"What about your partner here? You think he won't care if I waste you right in front of his eyes?"

"Like I said he's an ex-marine," DiNozzo grinned at Gibbs. "He look like the sentimental type to you?"

"You know something? You talk to dammed much."

It took seconds. As Tony felt the man shift his grip in preparation for pulling the trigger he slid his eyes left. Gibbs nodded fractionally in acknowledgement. Then Tony kicked the gunman's left leg out from under him, pitching him forward in that direction, even as he drove right. The staccato of gunfire cut through the air and blood splashed on the back of his head, before his world exploded in pain and everything went back.

* * *

Sound, smell, feeling and sight came flooding back in an overwhelming rush. He was slumped against the counter. People were shouting. The sweet tang of blood hung in the air. He hurt. And Gibbs was leaning over him, his eyes creased with concern.

"Tony, you alright? You back with me?"

"Faster than a speeding bullet, huh Boss?" He managed.

"I have news for you, DiNozzo," Gibbs smiled. "He still hit you."

"He did?" Groggily he reached out and touched the source of pain on his temple. His fingers came back slick with blood. "He shot me in the head?"

"No, you did that going down." Gibbs nodded at the counter top.

"Right," Tony tried to process that. "Arm?"

"Through and through," Gibbs affirmed. "Creased your side too."

Tony looked down at the blood on his shirt; come to think of it his side did hurt. Gibbs' hand was smeared with his blood as he put pressure on the bullet wound.

"I loved that shirt," He scrubbed at his face. In the distance the sound of sirens came ever closer. "Hospital?"

"You've just been shot. What do you think?"

Tony had thought his day couldn't get any worse. Clearly, he had been wrong about that. Gibbs never like it when anyone got injured under his command. Which meant he had screwed up royally. Again.

"I'm sorry, Boss."

"Tony," Gibbs gave him an assessing look. "If I thought for one minute you'd remember it .."

"I know," Tony tipped his head back closing his eyes. "You'd be ripping me a new one for being so reckless. What was I thinking? Someone could have been killed. I screwed up. I got it Boss."

Gibbs studied the gaunt lines of the too pale face. What DiNozzo had done was without doubt risky and dangerous. But his instincts had been spot on. If they had waited for back-up that little girl would have died. Tony had put himself in the line of fire and trusted Gibbs to get him out of it. If anyone had screwed up it was him.

"That little girl is alive because of you. That's something to be proud of."

Tony opened his eyes slowly, turning his head to search Gibbs expression as he asked. "Proud?"

"You gonna repeat everything I say?"

"You proud of me, Boss?" Tony asked, his eyes sparkling with some of their usual mischief as much of the tension leaked out of him. Not for the first time Gibbs was reminded just how much DiNozzo needed his good opinion.

"Now you're hallucinating." Gibbs smacked him, very gently, on the head.

"You know, I probably won't remember any of this, what with the blood loss and the pain meds. You might need to say that again, sometime when Kate is around, maybe?"

"Rule 31." Gibbs shook his head.

"Never date redheads?" Tony gave him an innocent look.

"Never repeat yourself. _Especially_, in front of witnesses."

Tony sighed, a sound of utter contentment and closed his eyes again, "Bastard." He murmured softly as he smiled.

* * *

Gibbs didn't know how they did it, but before he had even finished being interviewed by the LVPD, some TV Station had managed to get hold of the CCTV from the Store, cleaned up the images, added subtitles and were running then as the lead story on the local news. Tearing his eyes from the image of Tony saying that his mother had died on the TV in the corner he looked through the window to where DiNozzo, now sporting two bright white bandages was flirting with the EMT as he signed his name with a flourish.

_I'm going to kill him. _

"Am I keeping you from something, Special Agent Gibbs?" The Detective asked his pencil poised over his notebook.

"Can you give me a minute?"

Without waiting to see if the man would agree Gibbs went over to the coffee machine and poured two cups, stifling his grimace as he added three sugars to one. Adding their lids and stacking the cups one on top of another he made his way out the door. DiNozzo eyed him cautiously as he approached.

"Here." Gibbs passed him the coffee.

Tony took it with a grateful, if weary, smile. "Thanks Boss."

"EMTs give you the all clear?"

"Absolutely. I even have a piece of paper to prove it."

"Uh huh," Gibbs took a long swallow of his coffee. "You signed that paper AMA didn't you?"

"Come on Boss," Tony obviously had all his arguments ready. "Its not as if I've never been shot before. It was a clean shot, there's no bone or tendon damage. And you know how hard my head is. All I need is a few painkillers and I'll be good to go."

Gibbs smiled and Tony grinned uncertainly back as his Boss gave him a pat on his good shoulder leaning in to say in a deathly quiet voice.

"Not a chance, DiNozzo."

Watching his face fall Gibbs just shook his head. Had to give him points for trying. "Stay here, I'll be back in a minute," He turned back to where the LVPD Detective was waiting for him. "And for God's sake, sit down before you fall down." He threw over his shoulder.

Left alone, Tony sank down onto the kerb and wrapped his hands around the comforting warmth of the coffee cup and smiled. He shoulf have known Gibbs would never go for it. He wasn't sure how long he sat there before a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"He always said you would end up in the gutter."

Tony didn't look up. Despite what he had said to Gibbs, the smell of blood on his shirt was making him nauseous. His head hurt like hell and his arms was throbbing. Not to mention his side protested every time he moved and large patches of cold, clammy sweat made him long for a shower as they dried to an uncomfortable crust in the Nevada heat.

He couldn't deal with this right now.

"Something, I can help you with, Mr ..?" Gibbs voice asked.

"Walker. I work for Mr DiNozzo. Who the hell are you?"

"Special Agent Gibbs," It didn't occur to him to shake this man's hand. "I'm Tony's Boss."

"Mr DiNozzo wants to speak to his son."

Tony's head dipped a little lower.

"Oh?" Gibbs looked around. "I don't see him anywhere around here."

"I'm supposed to bring Tony to him."

"I see," Gibbs tone said he didn't at all as he crushed his coffee cup with unusual vehemence and threw it in the trash. "Well, I'm afraid Mr DiNozzo will have to wait. We were just on our way to the Hospital. C'mon Tony, front and centre."

Slipping a hand under Tony's good arm, he helped him to his feet, steadying the now cold coffee asthe younger manswayed slightly.

"Stay with me," Gibbs murmured for his ears only. "You don't get to pass out unless I say so. Understand?"

"I'm on it, Boss." Tony swallowed hard.

"Wait! What I am supposed to tell Mr DiNozzo?" Walker protested.

"Um, Boss," Tony offered quietly."He's not used to people saying no to him. He's gonna go postal."

Gibbs just smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

AN - Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews I am really sorry I can't respond personally but I'm manically busy with school at the moment. Please take this chapter as my apology for such rudeness!

* * *

Predictably, the story turned into something of a media circus. Gibbs' decision to commandeer a squad car to get them to the Hospital with lights flashing and sirens wailing, kept them one step ahead of the pack. Just. But as he stepped outside the cubicle to give DiNozzo the illusion of privacy while the Doctor checked him over, the journalists were already gathering in the parking lot. His jaw set, he strode over to the nurses station and flashed his badge to procure a phone.

"Kate, I need you to pull some strings with the LVPD."

"Gibbs," Kate sounded impatient. "I've been trying to call you. Your phone was switched off. Where are you?"

"Tony was shot and my phone was switched off. Do the math." Gibbs replied tersely.

"Oh, Hospital?" Kate guessed with a wince. "Abby, caught the newscast on the web."

"Yeah? So did half the journalists in Nevada. I need you to call the LVPD and get some uniforms down here ASAP. No-one gets into DiNozzo's room without my personal authorisation."

"They're admitting him?" He could hear Kate's frown as she noted down his instructions. "How bad is it?"

"The gunshot wound is the least of our worries." Gibbs said cryptically as he hung up on her and immediately redialled.

"Gibbs, wait!" At the other end of the phone Kate stared at her handset as she was left listening to a dialling tone. "The Director wants to speak to you. He said it was urgent .." She trailed off.

Back at the Hospital, Gibbs put his finger in his right ear in preparation for his call being picked up.

"Abby, I need you to run a few checks for me." He shouted.

"Hey, Gibbs," Mercifully the music immediately receded to a manageable volume, a sure sign of Abby's concern. "How's Tony? It seems like every time he leaves the building he gets shot or kidnapped or abducted by aliens or something."

"Aliens, Abs?"

"Those guys from Montana seemed pretty hinky to me, Bossman."

"Tony says he's fine."

"That bad, huh? What can I do?"

"Two things. I want you to hook up with McGee and find anything and everything you can about Tony's father. Then I want you to run a background check on our robber. And put Ducky on for me."

"That's three things Gibbs."

"I know you can multi-task."

"Sure thing Boss," He heard footsteps as Abby started walking. "Give Tony a big kiss from me. And not like last time. Do it right."

"_Abby_."

"You better do it Gibbs, cos I'm going to be checking up on you. Here's Ducky."

"Jethro?"

"Duck, I need a favour. How soon can you get here?"

* * *

While they were settling Tony into his room he went down to the gift shop and bought a plain white T-Shirt to replace his bloodstained shirt, a paperback book and an extra large coffee. He hadn't even stepped off the elevator when he heard the shouting.

"I'm sorry Mr DiNozzo," The nurse was apologising. "You're son is being admitted. I can't let anyone see him right now."

"I am not _anyone_. I am his father."

"Well, I'm afraid his visiting is being restricted. You'll need to be added to the list .."

"Restricted? On those authorisation?"

"That would be me." Gibbs said quietly.

DiNozzo Snr turned and looked at him. At this close range the physical likeness was unmistakable. Except, where Tony's green eyes sparkled with life, this man's eyes were hard, flat and grey.

"You seem to be going to great lengths to keep my son and I apart, Special Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs wasn't remotely surprised that he knew who he was. He had obviously had him checked out. Well, he was doing the same thing and he was pretty sure who would dig the most dirt.

"Tony is the lead witness in an ongoing LVPD investigation. I'm just following the protocols." he said mildly.

"By denying his next of kin access to his bedside? I'm sure my lawyers would have something to say about that."

Gibbs almost smiled. "Actually, I'm Tony's next of kin."

"You're bluffing." DiNozzo Snr decided.

"Oh no," The Nurse assured him. "It says here that Agent Gibbs has acted as Agent DiNozzo's next of kin on a number of occasions. Most recently when he required emergency surgery on a stab wound. He almost bled to death. It was all rather unfortunate," She looked up, re-considering. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't be telling you all this. Patient confidentiality and all."

The dark fury that burned in DiNozzo Snr's eyes etched Gibbs' respect for Tony's stubbornness up yet another notch. This was a man who was used to making boardrooms shake and empires topple with a single look.

"I am his father." He growled.

"And I'm his boss," Gibbs replied calmly. "And right now, Tony's on the clock. You want him, you can have him evenings and weekends."

"I'm surprised that your employers let you get away with such insubordination." The threat hung in the air between them.

"I am very good at my job."

"I demand to speak to your ultimate superior."

"Alright," Gibbs shrugged. "But I have it on good authority that this is his Golf afternoon. He's gonna be pretty pissed if you call him in off the green."

"I think you underestimate the level of my influence, Agent Gibbs."

"Its your call," Gibbs reeled off a number and turned on his heel. "If you didn't catch that, he lives in the big white building on Pennsylvania Avenue in DC. You can get the switchboard number from any directory."

* * *

Gibbs knew that the mask of calm indifference that he had assumed was good enough to fool most people. Including all three of his ex-wives. Unfortunately, DiNozzo wasn't most people. Sure enough, Tony took one look at his expression and his eyes slid unerringly to the bruised and bleeding knuckles on Gibbs right hand.

"What happend?"

Gibbs ignored the question as he pulled up a chair and took a good look at his Agent. The thin lines of strain around DiNozzo's eyes only served to highlight the pinched look and the pale complexion.

"You take your pain meds, DiNozzo?"

"They make me groggy." Tony vetoed that.

In answer, Gibbs simply pulled open the drawer in the side table and found the little plastic pot and three large pills that DiNozzo had quietly palmed, picked up the glass of water and held out them both out.

"Swallow. All of them."

"Look, Gibbs," Tony looked down. "I need to talk to you .."

"If you think I'm talking to you when you're light headed from loss of blood, not to mention probably concussed and God knows what else," Gibbs shook his head. "You'll make even less sense than usual."

"Boss, I'm serious." Tony looked up, his eyes haunted.

"Tony," Gibbs tone was unusually gentle. "There's a uniform on your door and another at the nurse's station. He's not getting in here without a note from God. It'll keep. Now, take the dammed pills."

Looking relieved Tony reached out and took the glass, holding out his hand for the pills, that Gibbs tipped onto his palm. Then he hesitated.

"I swear, DiNozzo, if you don't take those pills in the next three seconds .."

"You staying, Boss?"

"Now I know you're concussed." Gibbs said shortly.

Tony gave a rueful grin. He should have known better than to ask. Swallowing down the pills he hunkered down, carefully, on his uninjured side and closed his eyes knowing that he would have his back. The last thing he heard was Gibbs voice.

"Two hours, DiNozzo. Then I'm waking you for your concussion check."

* * *

After a surprisingly restful night, apart from Gibbs' scheduled interruptions, Tony came awake slowly. His were eyes crusted with sleep, his body stiff and protesting every moment. His side felt hot and scratchy, his head was throbbing and his shoulder ached like the devil. Worst of all, his throat felt parched and sore. As he tried to reach for the cup of water on the dresser, a hand closed over his and guided it back to his side.

"Here, dear boy, take small sips."

Tony sucked gratefully on the offered straw, feeling the blessedly cool water trickle down his throat before the voice fully registered and his eyes popped open.

"Ducky? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I had a few days vacation coming," The familiar features smiled down at him. "And I hear Las Vegas is very nice at this time of year."

"Gibbs called you."

"You know, Jethro. He thinks Doctors are the spawn of the devil. Present company accepted, of course. He wanted you looked over by someone he trusts."

"You shouldn't have had to come all the way out here for me."

"Now Anthony, I am sure that it hasn't escaped your notice that I have known Jethro somewhat longer than you have and we are more of an age. I am perfectly capable of saying no to him when the need arises. Is it so surprising that I would be concerned over your welfare?"

"You mean before or after you didn't want me to know where you lived?" Tony asked, a shadow of that hurt in his voice.

"And then Jethro sent you round to look after mother and what happened?"

"So, I've come back a few times to sit with her," Tony shrugged. "Anyone would do the same."

"Anyone could, and yet you are the only one who does, aside from Jethro, of course," Ducky looked steadily at him. "You know, you must not give so much of yourself to others that you leave nothing for your own needs."

"Me? I don't need much. A fast car, a pretty girl and a fresh pizza and I'm pretty much done." Tony shrugged, uncomfortable with the topic.

"I believe if Jethro was here he would slap you across the head for such a comment," Ducky eyed him sternly. "We all need our family around us in times of difficultly."

"Where is Gibbs anyway?" Tony demanded.

Ducky smiled slightly at the unconscious connection. It was plain to him that young Anthony had a filial devotion to Gibbs. Although, he suspected that DiNozzo was not wholly aware of the depth of Jethro's feelings on the matter. Perhaps, it was time that changed.

* * *

Tony was sleeping again by the time Gibbs returned, sprawled on his back with his mouth hanging slightly open as Ducky expounded in a low soothing voice about the exploits of Prince Rupert and his toy Poddle, "Boy" during the English Civil War.

"How is he?"

"Physically, he's fine," Ducky reassured. "It's a clean shot and there are no signs of infection. His has a mild concussion, but nothing to worry about. He lost a lot of blood, but rest and fluids will take care of that."

"Good," Gibbs relaxed a fraction. "When can he be discharged?"

"I see no reason why he can't be released this afternoon."

Gibbs considered that. His eyes never leaving the younger man's sleeping face. "Find one will you, Duck."

"Oh dear. Young Anthony's not going to like that very much. You know how he feels about Hospitals."

"Ducky, this man has ignored his son for more than a decade. Why is he suddenly so keen to play happy families? There's something else going on here and I'm not letting DiNozzo out of my sight until I find out what it is."

"Are you planning on explaining any of that to him?"

"I think he's already all too well aware of what kind of man his father is." Gibbs looked sombrely down at DiNozzo.

"I meant the part where you are so concerned about his welfare that you will risk your entire career to ensure that he goes unmolested by this man's attentions. A word of advice from an old friend, Jethro. Don't take young Anthony's father too lightly. He is a very powerful man and the Director tends to frown on the shooting of unarmed civilians."

"The love of a child is a very precious thing, Duck," Gibbs said quietly. "No man should be allowed to just throw that away."

"Have you ever told Tony that you think of him as a son?"

"He knows, I'd take a bullet for him." Gibbs huffed. "That has to count for something."

"Its hardly the same thing."

"I'm not the touchy feely type Duck, why do you think I got divorced three times?"

"Come now, Jethro. You underrate yourself. You managed to woo them in the first place didn't you?"

"_Woo,_ Ducky?" Gibbs raised a brow.

"Strange that you don't seem to have any problems being demonstrative with Abby."

"That's different. She's a girl."

"And Anthony is a young man, chronically starved of love and attention who craves the least bit of approval from you."

"I know," Gibbs murmured. "I do try."

"A head slap is a rather unorthodox sign of affection."

Gibbs took a step forward and gently brushed back the dark hair from the bruised forehead, taking care not to disturb the stitches. Tony stirred slightly but leant into his touch, murmuring his contentment.

"Damn it, DiNozzo, you better not be thinking of some girl." He growled softly.

Then he bent over and with impossible gentleness, dropped a soft kiss on his forehead.

"That do you?"

"Well," Ducky was slightly nonplussed. "It's a start."

"You're my witness," Gibbs cast over his shoulder as he made his way towards the door. "Tell Abby, I did it."

"Well my boy," Ducky observed to the still sleeping Tony with some satisfaction. "That was progress, indeed. Perhaps, next time we'll get him to do it when you are awake."


	6. Chapter 6

AN – thanks for the reviews, your encouragement means a great deal to me and I'm so glad other people are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

* * *

"Alright, I've done that," Gibbs scowled at the laptop like it was an alien life form. "Now what McGee?"

"Now you just click on the button that says connect and we should .. Yeah, that's it. I can see you now."

Gibbs clicked shut his phone and glared at McGee's face on the screen.

"Put Abby on."

"Um, she's not here right now." McGee hedged.

"Its alright," The angle titled and Abby's face appeared, looking as if had been crying. "What's up, Boss?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh," Abby sniffed and swiped a hand across her face. "Its stupid. I never cry. Its just Mrs Harrison's cat died and it seemed like you know, a bad omen, and then I couldn't get my Caff Pow on the way in because the machine broke down and then this research programme I've been working on got pulled and then Tony called me and he sounded so .."

"Tony called you?" Gibbs frowned. "I have his cell."

"You have one of his cells."

"McGee, go fetch Abby a Caff Pow as of ten minutes ago. And McGee?"

"Yes Gibbs?"

" If you ever lie to me again, you're fired. Understood?"

"Yes Sir." McGee gulped.

He watched until McGee disappeared over Abby's shoulder then turned his attention back to the matter in hand.

"Tell me what his father said."

"But I didn't even get to get to the part where I told you that Tony called him," Abby pouted. "No fair, Boss. You spoil all my fun."

"I got you a Caff Pow." Gibbs was unrepentant.

There had been a damned good reason why he had confiscated DiNozzo's cell phone. And preventing him from playing Tetris on it whilst in the Hospital wasn't the half of it. Tony wasn't the type to sit around and wait for problems to come to him. As soon as the initial shock of seeing his father had worn off Gibbs had just known he would do something like this.

"He was _nice_ to him, Gibbs. He invited him to the funeral."

* * *

Gibbs walked back into Tony's room to see his Senior Agent up and dressed in shoes, shirt and pants, a suit jacket and tie lying on the bed.

"Phone." He ordered, holding out his hand.

Tony sighed and dug one handed in the side table drawer, pulling out a second phone

"Abby?" He asked.

"Yep." Gibbs pocketed it.

"Its just for an hour or so," Tony gestured at the suit in explanation. "I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Polyester," Tony made a face, as he tucked his shirt into his pants, one handed. "I had one of the nurses pick it up from that little place across the street. I guess people buy them for those quickie weddings. You know, with Elvis as the minister and .."

"Strange you didn't just ask me to go pick up your suit." Gibbs observed, in a deceptively mild tone.

Tony winced, but his voice was level.

"That's because I knew you wouldn't go for it."

"Dammed straight, DiNozzo," Gibbs scowled across the room at Ducky, who was standing against the wall, observing the proceedings. "And what the hell were you thinking?"

"He needs to do this, Jethro. Its important."

Gibbs wrestled with that. At Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pretoria DiNozzo's file was littered with reprimands for insubordination and refusing to obey orders. He was one of the few people Gibbs had met who was almost as stubborn as he was. It was his quiet boast that DiNozzo had never disobeyed his orders. But that was because he led by example and was never stupid enough to order the young man to do something that went against his own highly developed sense of honour.

"Get your ass into gear DiNozzo," He conceded. "We should have left ten minutes ago."

"Boss, I'm not dressed!" Tony gestured at the bed.

"We'll pick up your suit on the way. I want you looking like an NCIS Agent. Not one of Fornell's rejects from the FBI."

"Thanks, Gibbs. You're the greatest." Tony grinned.

"Save it, DiNozzo. When that shoulder heals I'm going to take you down to the gym and knock seven bells out of you for being so damned reckless."

"Looking forward to it, already Boss."

* * *

As they pulled into the parking lot at the large Church Gibbs glanced over, not surprised to see the intense focus and concentration in DiNozzo's expression. It felt more like they were about to launch an undercover operation than attend a family funeral.

"Ready?"

"I feel like I should be wearing a wire." Tony echoed his thoughts.

"You know the drill."

He felt Tony glance across at his profile. Clearly hearing all the things he hadn't said. Undercover work was dangerous and unpredictable. You had to be one your guard and ready for anything. And the second things looked like they were going wrong you were out of there. No arguments.

"I think we'll need a better code word than, "Bikini." Tony commented, referring to their most recent operation.

"You could always tell them about your Shi-Tzu." Gibbs said, as he exited the car.

Tony paused, half in and out of the car, shooting Gibbs a quick look. "Was that a joke, Boss?"

"Move it, DiNozzo. They're going in."

"It was, wasn't it?" Tony grinned with satisfaction. "Wait till I tell Abby."

Gibbs said nothing. But inwardly he smiled at his success at distracting the young man sufficiently to settle his mood. In front of them, DiNozzo Snr, was accepting condolences from a large group of mourners, when he glanced up and noticed their approach. Gibbs fully expected him to stand his ground until Tony reached him. When he excused himself from his guests and came over to greet them Gibbs barely hid his surprise.

"Anthony," He offered his hand with a warm smile. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Tony looked coolly at the hand and for a moment Gibbs thought he was going to ignore it. Then he reached out and shook it briefly, quickly breaking the contact.

"I'm here for Aunt Teresa. No other reason."

"She'd be so glad you finally called. You know, how much she always wanted us to be closer."

Gibbs eye's narrowed at the emotional blackmail. In the field he had no doubts about his Agent's ability to take care of him-self. But Tony's emotions were fragile when those he loved and cared about were involved.

"I only called because Gibbs made me. He's big on honour and respect."

Only years of practice enabled the former Gunny Sergeant to keep his expression neutral. The lie had come out of nowhere. Its barbs smooth as silk. Delivered with a casual nonchalance designed to provoke. Gibbs didn't know whether to feel pride at DiNozzo's quick wit. Satisfaction that DiNozzo knew that he would back him. Or fury that he was toying so casually with such a dangerous target. The utter lack of emotion in those flat grey eyes as they swivelled in his direction worried Gibbs more than scorn or fury would have done.

"Thank you giving Anthony a ride, Agent Gibbs," It was a dismissal. "I'll see he gets back safely."

Gibbs nodded slightly, putting his hands in his pockets. There was no way DiNozzo Snr could refuse him. Not without causing a scene in from of all his society guests.

"I'd like to stay. Pay my respects."

* * *

Tony had been given a place of honour, next to his father, in the family pew. Not being a DiNozzo, Gibbs had been relegated to somewhere near the back. Tony had almost snorted at the obvious tactic. It wasn't as if he needed to hold Gibbs' hand to know the older Agent had his back.

Or vice-versa.

He hurt like hell. Buthe wasn't about to let a sign of weakness leak out in front of these people. On the way over, when he had pulled out the bottle of painkillers and shaken four into his hand in preparation for the ordeal ahead, Gibbs had raised a brow, but held his peace. Even so, the hour long ritual of standing, kneeling and sitting, plus the emotion of standing at the graveside, was taking its toll. He was glad he had come. But even more glad when it was over.

Somewhat to his surprise, his father had stepped back and invited him to throw a handful of earth onto the coffin. As he recalled he hadn't been allowed to do that at his Mother's funeral.

"Anthony," As the mourners were filing away, his father put a hand on his arm. "We should talk."

"Don't you need to see to your guests?" He nodded at the heavy gate of the Churchyard, where the priest was ready to shake hands with people as they filtered out.

"I need to spend some time with my son."

Tony froze. He didn't like this man and he sure as hell didn't trust him. But he couldn't remember a time when he hadn't wanted his father to put aside his business and social concerns for his sake. He couldn't remember it ever actually happening before.

"Tony needs to get back to the Hospital in time to take his meds." Gibbs voice at his shoulder gave him an out.

"Not till 12.30," Tony decided, grateful for the chance to set a time limit. "That still gives us fifteen minutes."

"Ten," Gibbs said shortly, clearly not missing the tight lines of pain across his forehead. "Traffic's always heavier at lunchtime."

"Shouldn't be a problem the way you drive, Boss." Tony teased.

"Ten, DiNozzo and not a second more, or I'll have you on desk duty for a month."

"Yes, Boss."

Aware of his father's glower at being kept waiting, Tony refused to move until he had Gibbs' nod of permission. Slipping his sunglasses firmly into place he fell into step beside the man who, despite his subsequent exposure to rapists, murders and serial killers, still managed to haunt his nightmares.

"So, talk."

* * *

To his surprise they walked on in silence for a few feet before his father spoke. Tony gritted his teeth as each footstep jarred his shoulder and every swing of his hips pulled at his side, he needed some pain meds and soon.

"Does your arm hurt?"

The solicitous tone, as much as the question itself surprised him.

"Its fine."

He waited. Gibbs would have picked up on the obvious lie, methodically catalogued every way in which he was obviously not fine before dosing him with pain pills washed down by a glass or two of Jack. His father just nodded.

"You were shot in the shoulder, before. Philadelphia, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Tony didn't elaborate. That had been back in the days before he had met Gibbs and his father had still been his legal next-of-kin. As was usual in such circumstances, his father had neither visited nor returned the medical team's calls. He'd never actually told Gibbs that the reason he hated being in Hospital so much was the associations with isolation and abandonment. It hadn't been an issue lately.

"You seem to take it all in your stride."

"I've been shot in the shoulder three times, plus arm, side, and leg," Tony catalogued. "Not to mention the times I've been kidnapped, tortured, stabbed, drugged, half-drowned and dated a serial killer. And that's in a slow week."

Antagonising the witness wasn't an interrogation technique he often employed. Usually he left that to Gibbs. Preferring to get them on side with his charm, lull them into thinking he was their friend. He didn't want this man to be his friend. And he was heartily ashamed of the small part of him that still desperately wanted him to be his father.

"You have a very dangerous job."

"It's a calculated risk," Tony nodded. "But Gibbs is very protective of his people. And we save lives."

"Still, you could do so much more."

"If this is about the Corporation again, I really don't give a .."

"Maybe, you should."

* * *

Leaning against the car Gibbs watched as DiNozzo made his way across the parking lot to the car. His shoulders were slightly slumped and his face was pale and tight with pain. Without a word Gibbs slipped a hand through the open window and fished in the glove box for the bottle of pills. Fleetingly checking the dosage he shook out two pills and offered then to his Senior Field Agent as soon as he was within range.

"Thanks." Tony took the pills and chewed them, accepting the bottle of water Gibbs held out to wash them down.

"I swear, DiNozzo, if you tell me you're fine."

"Actually, I feel like crap," Tony was unusually candid. "Can we go?"

As soon as they were alone Tony slumped in his seat, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. Too drained emotionally and physically to keep up any pretence that he was holding it together. When they were in the field he usually tried to maintain the facade, at least until they got the job done, or even while he was in the Hospital, if he thought he had screwed up and he wanted to give Gibbs some reason to be proud of him.

This was different. He knew Gibbs wouldn't think any the less of him for this.

"We're here."

DiNozzo blinked as Gibbs voice woke him. _Shit. _He hadn't meant to fall asleep. Looking blearily around he cast a wary eye at Gibbs to see if he had said anything in his sleep. Gibbs looked calm, but then that was usually more dangerous than the yelling.

"Um, this isn't the Hospital." He ventured nervously, as he recognised the entrance to their Hotel.

"You don't need the Hospital. You do need this." Gibbs responded, as he got out of the car and tossing his keys to the parking valet came and around to open his door.

"Right." Tony said slowly, as he levered himself out of the car, stifling a wince.

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but reached out to put a hand under his arm, steadying him as they walked slowly across the cavernous lobby. Tony concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and tried not to think about just how angry Leroy Jethro Gibbs could get in the privacy of their suite, if he had said anything whilst he was napping.

"Look, Boss, I think, maybe, perhaps, I should go back to the Hospital," He offered as they rode the elevator. "I mean, they have wheelchairs and drugs, lots of drugs and pretty nurses and you know, you really don't have the legs for .."

"Nervous, DiNozzo?" Gibbs tone was oddly gentle.

Tony flinched, as if Gibbs had actually hit him.

"Look, Boss, it isn't what you think .." He began desperately.

"Not now DiNozzo," Gibbs tone brooked no argument. "First you sleep. Then you eat something. Then, after we get your dressings taken care of, you tell me why you want to resign from NCIS. Understood?"


	7. Chapter 7

AN – Thanks for all the reviews, please take this quick update as an indication of my gratitude. Many thanks to Tweeter for helping me with my American!

* * *

Gibbs stood silently in the doorway. DiNozzo was already asleep, sprawled across the bed, too exhausted to undress or even crawl under the covers. Moving forward, Gibbs eased the jacket off the younger man, undid his belt, slipped off first one shoe and then the other before loosening his tie. Then he reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a spare blanket, which he spread over the sleeping form. Tony stirred slightly but didn't wake.

"What am I going to do with you?" Gibbs murmured.

Leaving the door ajar he walked back into the lounge area, where he already had the laptop set up. Picking up his coffee he looked at his assembled team.

"Kate, what do you have?"

"You know, Morrow is still trying to reach you. Your cell is switched off."

"I was at a funeral. The robbery, Agent Todd?"

"His name was Colin Walker," She glanced at a file. "No family. Lived on welfare. Been in and out of prison almost all his adult life. Had a list of priors as long as your arm. Plus my contact at the LVPD says the bloods came back positive for drugs and alcohol. I know how you feel about co-incidences Gibbs, but I'd say this was just a case of wrong place, wrong time."

"Alright, so the robbery wasn't a set up," Gibbs had always figured that was a long shot. He just wanted to be sure that he'd covered all the bases. "What about the background information I asked for?"

"I'm sending it now," Kate tapped on the keyboard. "God, Gibbs, his father. I had no idea."

"Don't feel bad," Abby reassured. "Tony's like an onion. You think all you're getting is the shiny, smooth, skin. But that is so tip of the iceberg."

"On the sidewalk it was as if Tony didn't even exist," Gibbs mused. "But after the robbery, he was desperate to see him. What the hell changed his mind?"

"Maybe, he just saw Tony and realised how much he missed him?" McGee suggested, only to falter when three pairs of eyes swivelled in dis-belief in his direction. "Or not." He amended.

"Can't we just ask Tony?" Kate offered. "I mean he must know his father better than any of us."

Even through the video link the glare Gibbs sent in her direction had her physically backing up a step. "No-one talks to DiNozzo about this. No-one. You're the profiler Kate. Do your job."

"Gibbs, I .." Kate spread her hands in frustration. "There's nothing."

"There's the tape." McGee piped up, colouring slightly when Gibbs razor sharp gaze swivelled in his direction.

"Go on." He said evenly.

"Well, before the robbery his father didn't want to talk to him. After he did. It _must_ be something that he saw on the newscast."

"I've been over that a thousand times," Kate protested. "There's nothing."

"Then do it again," Gibbs ordered. "And get Abbey and McGee to help you. And do it a thousand times more if you have to. McGee's right. And at the moment it's the only lead we have." Gibbs cut the transmission and the screen went blank.

"Did he just say I was right?" McGee wondered aloud.

* * *

Tony woke to find the room in semi-darkness, lit solely by the light from the bathroom and the ambient light flooding in through the window from the vibrant city below. Turning his head to look at the alarm clock he was shocked to see that he had slept for almost ten hours. And Gibbs had let him.

Gibbs. _Shit._

"You awake this time, DiNozzo?"

He turned his head to see Gibbs' silhouette in the door.

"Yeah, I think so."

"I'm going to turn on the light." Gibbs warned.

Tony squinted, as the bright light flooded the room, easing himself up onto his good arm and twisting himself around so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. His fingers brushed the soft blanket. Even when he was mad as hell, Gibbs was still looking out for him.

"Bathroom?" Gibbs' voice asked shortly.

"I can manage." Tony assured him, as he levered himself carefully to his feet and slowly covered the few steps to the bathroom. He left the door open as he attended to business and brushed his teeth. Wishing desperately for a shower, he made do with splashing some cold water on his face. He rubbed his face dry and pulled one of the Hotel's towelling robes on over his pajamas. Only to pause in confusion, he didn't even own any pajamas. On closer inspection, he saw that his bandages were bright white, clean and fresh.

"You woke up once or twice," Gibbs spoke from behind him. "Ducky came over and changed the dressings."

"I did?" Tony had no memory of that.

"You kept saying you were cold."

"Oh," Tony supposed that explained the pajamas. "Um. Did I say anything else?"

"Lots of things, DiNozzo. None of which made the slightest bit of sense."

* * *

True to his word, Gibbs made sure he ate something, before settling across from him on the sofa and raising a single brow.

"Well?"

"Its not that I want to resign. This has been the best job I've ever had. You've given me a chance to see what I can really do. I'll always be grateful for that, Boss."

"I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop, DiNozzo."

"Look, growing up, I didn't want his world. All I saw was the boardrooms and the backstabbing and the booze. And I thought, I don't want to be like that. I want to be some one who makes something more than money. I want to make a difference. That's why I became a cop. But it wasn't what I'd expected."

"Tony, even you can't save the world singe handed." Gibbs shook his head.

"Its not just that. How many cold cases have you racked up since you've been at NCIS, Boss? How many people's lives have been put on hold because we can't tie up the resources needed to find their loved ones body, or the asshole that killed their daughter any longer?"

"Too many times," Gibbs agreed. "Get to the point, DiNozzo."

"He's offered to set me up in my own agency. I can recruit whatever people I need. I'll have unlimited resources. I'll be my own Boss. No Morrow, or FBI to pull the plug. I can help those people, Gibbs. The ones no-one else has time for. I can do that."

"And all you have to do is resign from NCIS?"

"I've been there about two years already," Tony shrugged. "Time I moved on."

"Like hell," Gibbs growled. "You want to walk out on me. Don't expect me to make it as easy for you as he did."

"Boss, please. I have to do this."

"Have to?" Gibbs eyes narrowed.

"He's my father. Is it so hard to believe that I might want to make this work?"

_Yes._ Gibbs knew, more than anyone, how devastated Tony had been by his father's casual indifference. And not just during his childhood. Those company issue gifts at Christmas and the items of such monstrous unsuitability for his birthday had left him wondering if the man had ever even met his son.

"You've always been able to tell when I'm lying, Boss," Tony said softly. "Look, at me. This _is_ what I want."

He didn't want to admit it, but he already knew it was true. It was evident in the bright green eyes, the body language, even the tone of voice. Tony was desperate to do this.

"Yeah," He agreed slowly. "I can see that."

* * *

"Resign?" Abbey looked at him from out of the computer monitor, his eyes wide with shock. "But you can't!"

"Abs," Tony picked his shaver and deodorant up in one hand and walked back towards the bed, tucking them into the open wash bag, before picking it up and closing the zip with his teeth. "I have to."

"No, you don't. You can just tell your father to crawl back under whatever rock his crawled out from and come back to the people who love you!"

His back to her, Tony closed his eyes. If only it were that simple. When he turned around his eyes were hard with determination. "Abby, I'm sorry and I'm going to miss you like crazy, but this is the right thing to do."

"Its so not right," Abby protested. "You can't just leave."

"Trying to make a break for it before Gibbs finds out you've been putting adult movies on the company tab, DiNozzo?" Kate teased, as she came in behind Abby.

"Kate, he's resigning. You gotta stop him." Abby worried.

"Resigning?" Kate's expression went completely flat. "From NCIS?"

"Gee, thanks, Abs, break it to her gently, why don't you?"

"What does Gibbs have to say about this?" Kate wanted to know.

"Gibbs says I'm on medical leave until my shoulder heals," Tony shrugged. "Something about the Hospital insurance not kicking in otherwise. So, I'm heading out to the Condo my father's renting for a week or so to see if I can't get the ball rolling on a few things. Put out some feelers. You want a job, Abs? You can have that fluorescent pink lab coat you always wanted?"

"Hey, what about me?" Kate protested.

"Pink's not really your colour, Katie." Tony teased.

"You could hire the whole team," Abby suggested. "Then it would be just like old times except with a much better sound system and a Caff Pow machine in the basement."

"Naw, Gibbs will never leave NCIS. Not over something like this, anyway." Tony closed the holdall.

"Have you even asked him?" Kate enquired.

"I have to go. My ride's waiting. I'll be in touch, OK?" He killed the connection before either of them could respond.

"Do you really think Gibbs would leave to go and work with Tony?" Abby asked.

"If he doesn't start picking up his messages from the Director, he might have no choice."

* * *

"I'm sorry to leave you in the lurch, so to speak," Ducky commented, as he packed his few belongings. "Still, I'm sure Mr DiNozzo has an excellent medical staff. Young Anthony will be in good hands."

"Its not your fault, Duck. I've already taken too much of your vacation time already," Gibbs waved that off. "You go home and take care of your Mother."

"Its such a shame, Mrs Walker's found another job," Ducky sighed. "Mother really liked her. Well, as much as she liked anyone. Not everyone can tolerate her little ways. Although, Anthony has quite a way with her, I must say." His tone was pointed.

"Problem, Duck?"

"You know, how stubborn Anthonycan bewhen he gets an idea in his head. He clearly thinks he is doing the right thing. If you don't do something, you are going to lose him, Jethro."

"Tony's a free agent. He can resign if he wants to." Gibbs said shortly.

The soft sound from behind him alerted him to the fact that DiNozzo had opened the door from his room. Given the younger Agent's sensitive hearing, not to mention the closed expression on his face, there was no way he hadn't heard him.

"DiNozzo .."

"Ducky," Tony extended his good hand. "Thanks for everything. You need a ride to the airport or anything?"

"No, thank you my dear boy," Ducky took his hand in both of his and patted them lightly. "I have that all arranged. Now, you take care of yourself. No over exertion for the next two weeks, not even if she is blonde and a former Miss February."

"I'll try to hold out until March." Tony agreed.

Then unable to put the moment off any longer he turned to Gibbs, pasting a smile on over his emotions.

"I left my letter of resignation on the bed. It's post dated until the end of my medical leave."

Gibbs said nothing. The silence stretched between them. In the parking lot below a horn sounded.

"That's my ride. I guess, I'm running late," Tony shrugged. "Watch your back, Gibbs."

He picked up his bag with his good arm, and walked towards the door, put down his bag, put his hand on the door knob, turned it, opened the door, picked up his bag, paused, then took two steps out into the hallway.

"DiNozzo."

He didn't turn, but he stopped. Waiting.

"Semper Fi."

Tony closed his eyes. Let out a ragged breath, opened his eyes, and kept on walking.

* * *

AN – I think I should say here (before people start throwing things) that this is not the end of the story and the big fights Tony/DiNozzo Snr and DiNozzo Snr/Gibbs will come in the next chapter! 


	8. Chapter 8

Tony stared at himself in the mirror as he struggled to tie his bow tie with only one good hand. He hated black tie. The whole James Bond thing was just another act. Something to camouflage the memories of too many evenings as a child stuffed into a suit he was too young to carry off with anything but embarrassment.

"You need to come downstairs. The guests will be arriving soon." His father stood in the doorway.

"I'll be right there."

The frown was enough. DiNozzo gritted his teeth.

"Yessir."

"Special Agent Gibbs didn't waste much time mourning your departure, " His father paused to see if that would get a reaction. "He was seen boarding a flight for Washington an hour ago."

"He has a job to do." Tony decided simply to tuck the ends of the bow tie together, tying it off awkwardly with his good hand and his teeth. His father watched but didn't offer his assistance.

"Apparently he has gone scuttling back to save what's left of his career. Seems he's managed to ruffle some important feathers."

Tony closed his eyes briefly but didn't answer.

"Not the man you thought he was, is he?"

"At least Gibbs, never had to threaten my friends to ensure my loyalty," Tony's voice was low and quiet. "Do you know how many lives Abby's research could have saved? Or that Mrs Mallard won the George Cross for her bravery in World War II? Do you even care that Gibbs has probably done more to safeguard the security of this country than any man alive?"

"You never did understand how business works." His father's voice was cold. "At least, you came to your senses before I had to involve Agent Todd."

"This isn't _business._ This is destroying people's lives."

"Anthony, those people aren't important. What is important is that you are back where you belong."

"That's what all this is about, isn't it?" He turned towards his father. "You've never wanted me. But you saw Gibb's face on the newscast when I got shot and you couldn't bear that someone else did?"

He saw the punch coming and did nothing to avoid it, letting his head roll with the impact and hissing with enough pain to convince his father he was truly cowed.

"You will never mention that man's name again. You_ belong _to me."

Tony swallowed hard as his father strode away. He was very much afraid he was no longer entirely sane. A final glance in the mirror showed an eye already beginning to swell and a bow tie that was decidedly lop-sided.

"Gibbs is right," He muttered. "Gotta learn to duck."

With a sigh he picked up his sunglasses and slipped them on his nose, before heading downstairs to the party.

* * *

Tony scanned the room, automatically checking exits and for possible dangers. Without a gun and an ear-wick he felt almost naked. Some of the guests he recognised from his childhood, other faces were new to him. Absently, he picked a canapé off a passing waiter's silver tray and bit into the salty cracker.

"Anthony! It is you, isn't it? I'd know you anywhere. You look so much like your father!"

He listened with half an ear to the thirty-something woman who had latched on to the prodigal son, her eyes glittering with too much gin and thoughts of the DiNozzo fortune. After a decent interval, he flashed her an insincere grin, invented an excuse, and ducked behind one of the waiters into the small service elevator. With a glare the man hit the red button and brought the car to a shuddering halt.

"That's a good look on you, Boss."

"Not a word, DiNozzo. Unless, you want Agent Todd to see the pictures of that time you went undercover as a barman."

The brown hair was a nice touch, as were the thick spectacles and the coloured contact lenses. Tony wasn't sure where Gibbs had got the prosthetic skin on such short notice, but his own mother probably wouldn't have recognised him.

"Kate knows all about the earring," Tony's grin was smug. "She noticed the hole."

"How about the nipple ring?"

Tony blinked.

"You knew about that?" He swallowed hard. "Um, what about ..?"

"That too, DiNozzo," Gibbs grinned at him. Then he was all business. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

Gibbs snorted lightly at the obvious lie. He reached out and plucked the sunglasses from his nose, tilting his cheek into the light to get a good look at the bruised, puffy, eye as Tony continued to hold his gaze without blinking.

"That's two I owe him." Gibbs vowed softly.

"So, what's the weather like in Washington?" DiNozzo changed the subject, taking his sunglasses back.

"Stormy," Gibbs grimaced. "Unofficially, Morrow's approved the sting. Officially, you're on medical leave and I'm on suspension. And don't give me that look, DiNozzo. You even think about doing this alone and I'll shoot you myself."

"Just so long as he goes down, Boss."

During his first year at NCIS Gibbs had struggled to break him of an almost suicidal recklessness. When a particularly serious incident had very nearly cost him his life, Gibbs had waited in silence while the EMTs had checked him over. Tony had been sure he was about to get fired. Instead, his Boss had taken him back to his place, sat him on the sofa and cracked open a bottle of Jack until they had finally got to the bottom of things.

He'd know from a young age that his father had the power to hurt people, staff in tears after being dismissed for a trivial mistake. Business meetings that ended in raised voices and men with ghost white faces as their futures crumbled around him. One of the reasons he had become a cop was to help people like that, who couldn't help themselves, as if he could somehow make up for the damage his father had done.

"Tony," Gibbs frowned, obviously remembering the self same conversation. "You're not responsible for what your father does."

"Tell that to the people whose lives he's destroyed. To them the DiNozzo name is scum."

"You lose your objectively over this and I'm going to pull you." Gibbs warned.

"I know. I'll be good, Boss."

"Alright, see if you can get anywhere near those files. The sooner we have the evidence, the sooner we can get you out of here." He hit the button, to get the elevator started again.

"Thanks, Boss. I owe you."

The elevator shuddered to a halt and the doors opened. Gibbs started to exit, only to pause and frown.

"I swear, DiNozzo. You can't tie a bow tie worth a damn."

Deft fingers tugged at the black silk, re-tying it in clean, economic movements into a crisp, tight, even, bow. A firm tap on his cheek, left him with the lingering warmth of Gibb's fingers on his face as his Boss flashed him a smile, all white teeth in the dim light and disappeared into the night.

DiNozzo put his good hand in his pocket and rocked back slightly on his heels, as he grinned.

He could do this.

* * *

Back in the hire car Gibbs didn't bother to strip off his disguise before he picked the laptop up from the passenger seat and turned it on, unscrewing the top of his thermos and taking a gulp of his coffee as he waited for the connection to fire up.

"Abs, you got a signal?" He asked without preamble.

"I just need a minute, Boss."

"You have thirty seconds."

"Nice hair, Boss," Kate smirked. "Is that the Autumn Glow or the new Mahogany Moments?"

"Keep it up,Kate and the next time we need someone to go undercover as a transvestite it won't be DiNozzo."

"Alright, I have him!" Abby cut in. "He's on the move, Boss."

"Let's hope he doesn't lose the tracker this time," Kate mused.

"He can't," Abby grinned. "It's surgically implanted."

"Gibbs, you didn't!" Kate was shocked.

"Of course not. I had Ducky do it."

"Ducky?" Kate's mind whirled with the possibilities. "Um, where exactly?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Agent Todd," Gibbs said blandly. "Its in his arm."

"Unfortunately, young Anthony doesn't always take the appropriate care of his injuries," Abby mimicked the Englishman. "The recklessness of youth I suppose. It was quite easy really to slip it in under his skin as I repaired a few of his stitches. Properly sterilised, of course."

"Gibbs, that can't be ethical." Kate protested.

"Abby, where is he?" Gibbs ignored her.

"Um, north by north west," Abby peered at the screen and double checked with the plan Tony had faxed her. "Office. He's going after the computer."

"I didn't know Tony was any good at hacking." Kate commented.

"He isn't. We're not going with finesse here. He's just going to take the laptop."

"I hate to mention this Gibbs, but don't you need some kind of warrant before you can start impounding personal belongings?" Kate worried. "It won't be admissible."

"You think I haven't thought of that, Agent Todd?"

"Tony had been trying to bring down his old man since he joined the force," Abby commented cheerfully. "Of course, it doesn't help that he's as rich as Midas and about as hinky as they come.Last year Bossman started helping him. They have a whole filing cabinet in my lab full of his dirty deals. Gibbs has impounded people's entire apartments on less."

"You've been planning this for a year?" Kate looked at Gibbs.

"Just waiting for the right opportunity."

"And Tony's resignation?" Her voice went up a notch.

"Was entirely his own idea." Gibbs growled.

"Uh oh." Abby murmured.

"What?" Kate and Gibbs asked in unison.

"Looks like Daddy Warbucks is on the move too."

"You put a tracker on his father?" Kate looked at Gibbs.

"No, I didn't." Gibbs said shortly.

"Looks like Tony was expecting trouble." Kate bit worriedly at her lip.

Gibbs was already pulling off his jacket and white shirt, snatching a plain black t-shirt from an open holdall, and pulling a small, metal, tin out of a storage compartment, smearing his face with black, before reaching over into the back seat and retrieving his gun, before closing the laptop with a decisive snap.

"Looks like Gibbs was too." Abby commented.

* * *

Gibbs moved slightly through the night, checking the perimeter before he effortlessly scaled the trellis on the outside of the building. He dropped silently on the balcony, quietly picked the lock and slipped inside. With a quick dash across the hall he moved into position.

"I'm disappointed in you Anthony," DiNozzo Snr's tone was expressionless. "I thought you cared more for your friends, than to put them in danger like this."

"Yeah, well. You were the one who pushed me into sports. Coach Wilkinson always said he best defence is a good offence. You won't be able to hurt my friends when you are cooling your heels in the slammer."

"You can't betray me. Your whole life all you have ever wanted was my approval."

"That's true," Tony agreed. "But I want Gibbs' approval more."

"You cannot seriously believe that man feels anything more for you than supervisor and employee."

"I know Gibbs has shown me more support and encouragement in the last two years than you've managed my whole lifetime."

"And the first time your performance slips below par, or you put his team in danger, he will fire you without a second thought."

"Never gonna happen."

"That man is not your father."

"Well, he's the closet thing I've ever had." Tony's taut was a clear challenge.

In the silence that stretched between them, Gibbs could almost feel DiNozzo Snr's anger building. He forced himself to hold position. Tony needed to see this thing through for himself.

"You are even more of a fool than I took you for," DiNozzo Snr seethed. "If you think that man sees you as a son."

The hesitant was so slight, anyone who didn't know Tony really well would have missed it. When his voice came it was soft and low.

"You don't know anything about Gibbs."

"And you think you do?"

This time, Tony's hesitation was obvious and when he spoke again there was wariness in his tone. "Gibbs doesn't have to tell me anything he doesn't want to."

"Not even about his own daughter? You really think you can take the place of his own flesh and blood?"

Outside Gibbs held his breath as he waited for Tony's response. "C'mon, DiNozzo," He murmured. "Don't let him psyche you out."

"Why not?" Tony's voice was soft challenge. "Gibbs, Ducky, Abby, Kate, McGee, all of them. They're the only family I have."

"Go get 'im, Tony." Gibbs approved.

"You'd chose them over me?"

"Well, maybe not McGee," Tony reflected. "He's kinda a geek. He actually thinks computers are exciting. I think the kid would rather play with his motherboard than go on an actual date. Still, you gotta give him credit. He'll have your files unencrypted in a hot second and you won't have any place left to hide."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

"D Dad?"

The plaintive note in Tony's voice made all the hairs on the back of Gibbs neck stand up. The unmistakable soft _phut phut_ of bullets leaving a silencer turned his unease into a burning fury._ Damn. _He moved fast enough to see Tony's body jerk backwards under the impact of the two bullets hitting his chest, his head slamming against the wall with a painful crack, only to slide to the floor in an unconscious heap. Above him, his father advanced, pistol in hand, ready to deliver the killing shot.

"Freeze," Gibbs ordered, levelling his gun. "Or, I'll drop you where you stand."

* * *

AN - Alright, I am _not_ deliberately trying to mess with people's heads here. Its just the way the chapter wrote itself out and I really don't want to rush the important stuff. I promise well get to Gibbs/DiNozzo Snr next time! 


	9. Chapter 9

AN – Sorry its taken so long to update – but I wanted to be happy with it. Thanks as always for the reviews. Your comments and encouragement are hugely appreciated. One more chapter after this. Then I have a new story in the works.

* * *

The steady beep, beep, beep of the machines and the sharp smell of antiseptic were the first signs Tony had that he was in the Hospital. Again. Although, the meds he could see being pumped into him through his arm must have been pretty good, because he didn't feel a thing.

"Tony? Are you awake?"

And now he was hallucinating.

Blinking, he looked up at the image of Caitlin Todd. With a scowl he rapidly revised his previous assessment of the drugs. Maybe, NCIS insurance didn't stretch to the really good stuff. He should at least have managed to imagine her in something more well_, imaginative_. Black leather pants maybe, and that wet T-shirt from spring break. The navy blue suit and a copy of "House Beautiful" didn't really cut it.

"I really don't want to know what you are thinking do I?" She sighed. "Only you Dinozzo, could wake up leering from a coma."

"Coma?" He croaked, over a dry throat. "As in "The Dead Zone?" It's suddenly five years later. I'm married to Jessica Alba. Gibbs has finally finished his boat and Tom Cruise is the President?"

"Not that quite long."

She averted her gaze as she moved to fix him some water, aware of his green eyes tracking her every movement. In fact, it had been less than 24 hours. Medically, she wasn't at all sure whether or not that even qualified as a coma. But it was sure as hell long enough for the sight of him lying there so still and quiet to scare her in ways she was reluctant to examine too closely. She had longed for him to wake up. And now that he had she had no idea what she was going to tell him.

"Kate, what are you doing here?"

_Damn._ Even waking up from unconsciousness he was showing the traits that made him the Senior field Agent. Something about her body language must have given her way. His tone was already suspicious.

"Ducky isn't the only one who can take vacation time." She shrugged lightly. Even to her own ears the excuse sounded false.

"Gibbs threaten you PDA again?" Tony joked weakly, as he shifted slightly on the bed, schooling his expression as the movement obviously jarred.

"Something like that. How are you feeling? I should probably call a doctor." She gabbled, grateful for the distraction as she reached for the call button.

Her hand never made contact, as Tony's fingersclosed around her wrist.

Tony's eyes narrowed at her guilty expression. He was too experienced an investigator not to notice when someone had evaded a question. And the Director would never have approved vacation time at such short notice. Not when he and Gibbs were already out of the office.

_Gibbs_.

Tony felt a lead weight settle in his stomach. As if he already knew something very important if only he could remember what it was.

"Kate, where's Gibbs?"

"Ducky said you needed your rest." She countered weakly.

His expression said very clearly that he wouldn't even think about resting until he knew what was going on with Gibbs. She looked away and for a moment he thought she might lie to him but when sheturned back to meet his eyesher expression was resigned.

"Gibbs is missing."

"_What_?"

"Tony, how much do you remember?"

* * *

The trouble was, Tony reflected, he really _didn't_ remember anything after his talk with Gibbs in the elevator. If he did he might have been able to put up some kind of a smoke screen to help his boss with whatever it was he was doing. As it was he didn't dare let anything slip, just in case it inadvertently screwed things up.

The fact that Gibbs might be injured or held hostage, relying on what Tony didn't know to help rescue him was something he was trying not to think about.

"So, Agent DiNozzo," The FBI Agent at the end of his bed, pencil poised over his notebook, gave him a sceptical look. "You are claiming you had no contact with Special Agent Gibbs after you left the Hotel."

"I'd just resigned. There was no reason to speak with him."

"You worked with Gibbs for over two years. You were the Senior Field Agent on his team. When I spoke to Agent Fornell in our Washington office he said Gibbs would shoot you himself before he'd let you walk out on him."

"You think _Gibbs_ shot me?"

"You tell me."

Tony took a sharp breath, flinching as the air forced his bruised and cracked ribs in and out. The Doctor had shown him the two neat holes in the bulletproof vest he had been wearing. It might have saved his life but he knew from experience he'd be sore for a few weeks to come.

"Really, I must protest," An unexpected voice came from the doorway. "You were only given permission to question Agent DiNozzo, so long as you did not aggravate his injuries. If you cannot restrain yourself I shall have to ask you to leave."

"Its alright, Ducky," Tony flashed the Physician a weak smile, absurdly glad to see that he hadn't actually left town, before turning his attention back to the question. "Burley worked under Gibbs as Senior Field Agent for almost five years. When he left Gibbs gave him a bottle of Bourbon. Not a bullet."

"Gibbs _asked _for Burley to be transferred off his team."

"That true, Ducky?" Tony asked softly.

"Gibbs did have a meeting with the Director prior to Mr Burley's transfer," The MD nodded, as he moved to Tony's side placing a hand on his arm in quiet support. "Although exceptionally talented, Jethro felt the young man wasn't quite suited to leading an NCIS team of his own. If I recall he ensured Mr Burley was offered a position he couldn't refuse."

"Yet, because I decided to walk you think Gibbs shot me in a fit of pique?" Tony's raised eyebrow showed how ludicrous he thought the FBI Agent's suggestion. "The man's a Marine. Not an ex-lover."

"Do you deny that Gibbs was often physically and verbally abusive to you in the workplace? According to my sources he was already on suspension pending a complaint made against him."

"Not by me."

"Innocent men don't usually run, Agent DiNozzo," the Federal Agent stepped a little closer, some of his frustration at being continually stonewalled leaking out. "If Special Agent Gibbs has nothing to hide, then where the hell is he?"

Tony closed his eyes briefly. He wished he knew.

* * *

Micheal Gambino looked around the modest villa with distaste. Its only real advantage was its isolation. Still, if he was to avoid the attention of the IRS while he established his new identity it was a necessary evil. A little plastic surgery, a new passport and a few discreet transfers from his Swiss bank account and Micheal Gambino would be a force to be reckoned with.

Then he would have his revenge.

Loosening his tie he headed towards the bathroom, shedding his jacket and shoes as he went. Unbuttoning his shirt he leant into the shower stall he turned on the water, adjusting it to a comfortable temperature.

"Out."

The soft command was followed by the sound of cold metal behind his ear. Followed by an unmistakable click. Warily he complied. As soon as he stepped back a hard punch to his right eye knocked his head back. He staggered and would have fallen if two hands hadn't grasped him by the shoulders and pinned him hard against the wall.

"That one was for Tony," The voice hissed. "Now, move."

Herded into the lounge area he was surprised to see a sturdy Queen Anne chair had been set in splendid isolation in front of a small walnut table in the middle of the room.

"Sit."

Once he was seated, his arms were cuffed behind his back. Only then did his assailant, move into his line of vision.

"I trust I have your attention?" Gibbs asked.

"How dare you?" DiNozzo Snr spluttered. "I'll have your badge for this."

"You'd have to press charges first," Gibbs countered. "And I'm guessing a visit to the DA isn't high on your "to do" list right now."

"You bastard."

"You better believe it." Gibbs smiled thinly.

Looking into that intense gaze, for the first time in his life Anthony DiNozzo Snr was truly afraid. He swallowed hard. He had ordered his valet to pack a bag for him. He had told his PA that he would be out of reach for a few weeks. He had left driving his own car and rented this house under an assumed name. No one would know to look for him here. He could try calling out. But there was no one to hear.

When Gibbs reached inside his jacket, a thin acrid smell cut through the air and he knew from the warm wetness that trickled down his leg that he had lost control of his bladder.

"Please, don't kill me." He begged weakly.

Gibbs eyed him with utter contempt, as he withdrew the buff folder and dropped it on the table in front of him. "Get reading."

"How am I supposed to turn the pages?"

"Do I look like I care?" Gibbs growled. "Use your teeth."

* * *

An hour later his skin was red and chafed from where the urine had burned tender flesh and the smell in the room was almost unbearable. Across from him, Gibbs sipped at his coffee and watched him, without the least sign of discomfort.

"Am I supposed to be proud?"

"You don't have the right," Gibbs dismissed that. "What Tony has achieved, he's done in spite of you. Not because of you."

"I did everything for him," DiNozzo bristled. "I sent him to the best schools. I ensured he met the right people. He was the one who wanted to throw all that away."

"He was twelve years old," Gibbs hissed. "And you washed your hands of him."

"Is that what this is about, Agent Gibbs?" DiNozzo Snr baited. "You couldn't save your own daughter. So you'll salve your conscience by taking away my son?"

"You lost Tony a long time ago," Gibbs shook his head. "He's too good a man to follow in your low life footsteps."

"Yet he couldn't shoot me," DiNozzo tipped his head on one side. "Not even to save to save your life."

Gibbs kept his own counsel about that. When Tony had staggered unsteadily to his feet to find Gibbs and his father levelling their weapons at each other he had shakily drawn his gun and pointed it in the general direction of his father. Not even Gibbs' barked order to stand down, knowing that the young man would never forgive himself for killing his own father, no matter what the circumstances, had had any effect. The shot had been wide, but Gibbs was convinced that a concussed DiNozzo had just shot one of the versions of his father his brain was seeing right through the head.

After that, Tony had collapsed.

And DiNozzio Snr had run.

In Gibbs' mind there had been no contest. He could track DiNozzo Snr to the ends of the earth if need be. But he would be dammed if he would leave behind one of his own. Only when Tony was safely en route to Hospital, did he feel free to pursue his vendetta. When no one could find him he knew his team would rally around DiNozzo.

Still.

Swiftly making his decision he took the tie backs from the curtains and deftly secured DiNiozzo Snr's feet to the legs of the chair.

"What are you doing?" The man blustered, an edge of fear in his voice.

"You know something?" Gibbs picked up the discarded silk tie. "You talk too much."

"Wait!" His voice held a note of panic. "Are you coming back?"

"I don't know." Gibbs shrugged, as he tied the makeshift gag firmly in place. "Maybe."

As he walked away he ignored the muffled cries that echoed in his wake.

* * *

Tony couldn't sleep. His shoulder ached like hell. His side was sore and itchy and his chest felt like a herd of elephants had trampled over him. And his head throbbed so badly he could hardly think. The jumbled images in his mind posed questions he desperately needed to answer. Yet he was afraid to find out the truth.

"Anthony, you must rest. Your body needs it." Ducky admonished gently.

"You think Gibbs would rest if I was in danger?" Tony shot back.

"You know as well as I do, that Jethro would not wish to see you hampering your recovery for his sake."

"Dammed straight." A voice growled in the darkness.

"Boss." Tony tried to sit up.

"Take it easy." Gibbs strode over to the bed and swiftly quelled his movement with a firm hand to his chest.

"Good to see you in one piece, Jethro. I'll be right outside." Mallard discreetly excused himself.

Gibbs looked down at Dinozzo searching his expression for a long moment. "You look like hell."

"The FBI are here," Tony ignored that. "They think you shot me."

"I saw them," Gibbs ignored the hard chair and settled himself on the bed. "You set them straight?"

"I ..um.., " Tony felt himself blush as he fiddled with the blanket. "I mean, I know you didn't shoot me, but I don't think they believed me Boss. I can't exactly remember.. "

"Two concussions in as many days," Gibbs excused him. "I'm surprised you remember your own name."

Tony winced at the reminder of his ancestry.

"Is he dead?"

"Not yet." Gibbs gave him a direct look. "Is that what you want?"

Tony considered that. When he had thought Gibbs' life had been in danger there had been no contest. But when he had believed he had killed his own father he had been disgusted at himself. Did he have any right to ask Gibbs to do his dirty work for him?

"I just don't want him to hurt anyone else."

Gibbs smiled at him. A soft, proud smile that DiNozzo had seen on a mere handful of occasions since he joined NCIS. It was a look that he prized more than any commendation from the Director or any gong he was awarded.

"I'll take care of it. Understood?"

"Yes, Boss." Tony nodded, then winced, closing his eyes tight shut, as he instantly regretted the movement.

A long suffering sigh was followed by the sound of a draw opening and closing, when DiNozzo could finally crack one pained eye open he wasn't remotely surprised to see a beaker of water and a small mound of pills hovering in his vision.

"Don't even think about arguing with me." Gibbs' tone meant business.

"Yessir," Tony meekly took the pills and the water and swallowed them all in one grateful gulp. Letting his head drop wearily against the pillow, he smiled lazily at his mentor.

"You took a hell of a chance. Sneaking pass the FBI."

"Amateurs." Gibbs snorted his opinion of that.

"And you wanted to see how I was," Tony grinned unrepentantly. "Admit it Boss, you were worried about me."

"DiNozzo, you're always a worry," Gibbs softened the words with a slight smile, as he brushed back his hair and laid a hand, cool and strong, briefly against his fevered brow. "Now, get some rest. That's an order."

"You'll be careful? Right?"

"Trust me." Gibbs grinned, his eyes bright and feral in the semi-darkness, before he disappeared into the night.


	10. Chapter 10

AN - OK, so I was just going to write a neat little chapter, tie up all the lose ends, and then I started thinking .. so they will be more after this!

* * *

As he emerged from Tony's room, Gibbs easily dodged the two FBI officers loitering in the hallway. The dark suits and the shades doing nothing to help them blend in. As he'd expected Ducky had gone no further than the Doctor's Lounge to fetch him a cup of real coffee. Giving his old friend a smile of thanks Gibbs took a long swallow before asking the question that was uppermost in his mind.

"How is he doing?"

"Physically, he's more battered and bruised than anything else. All he really needs is rest and plenty of it." Ducky sighed.

"And mentally?"

"His own father tried to kill him Jethro. That kind of thing tends to be rather unsettling."

"I can see that," Gibbs huffed out a breath. "Take care of him, Ducky."

He had barely gone two paces when the cultured tones stopped him in his tracks.

"That boy thinks the world of you Jethro. He won't thank you for sacrificing your career for this. A little restraint might well be in order."

Gibbs paused, knowing there was more.

"I took the liberty of pulling Mr DiNozzo's medical records. I fear he smokes and drinks rather too heavily to die peacefully in his own bed. A bullet in the brain would be something of a kindness." Ducky's tone clearly indicated that he didn't think the man merited such consideration.

"I hear you, Duck."

Gibbs carried on walking. Glancing at his watch he decided it was still too early. He wanted DiNozzo Snr to stew for a little while longer. When he emerged into the parking lot he caught sight of Kate struggling with a large bag of take out from the Burger Bar across the street. With a thin smile he pulled out his phone, watching as she scowled and tried to juggle the bag as she went to answer. He supposed he could just have walked over and spoken to her but he wanted to keep her on her toes.

"Gibbs, where the hell are you?"

"Taking care of business," He said cryptically. "What have you got for me?"

"The FBI thinks you shot Tony."

"Tell me something I don't know."

There was a brief silence as she wondered how he had found out that particular piece of information, considered asking him and then obviously thought better of it. "Did you know that Tony's family were as rich as Midas?"

"Yes."

"Oh," Obviously disconcerted, Kate looked around for a way to free up her hands and dropped the takeout onto a nearby bench as she dug into her purse to look at her notes. "The local CSI pulled two bullets out of Tony's vest and matched them to a handgun registered to a company employee, Paul DeSanto. He reported the gun stolen two days ago and he has a cast iron alibi."

"Figures." Gibbs snorted. "Anything else?"

"Morrow was trying to reach you. You turned off your cell again." Her tone was both curious and accusatory.

Gibbs said nothing. She was supposed to be an NCIS Agent now. If she couldn't work out that his phone had been switched off because he had been visiting with Tony in the Hospital, then she had no place in his team. She had already lost points for being less than observant.

"For future reference Agent Todd, you should have bought Pizza."

He clicked his phone shut. Leaving Kate standing in the parking lot gazing at her handset in consternation and confusion. With a disgusted sigh she dropped the now cold and greasey takeout into the nearest trash can.

* * *

He waited until he got to his car and the laptop before calling up Morrow. He suspected it was going to be a difficult conversation and those he always preferred to have those face to face. Or as close as. As he'd expected Morrow didn't waste any time on pleasantries.

"Some hotshot at CSI called Nick Stokes found a hole in the east wall of DiNozzo Snr's office. He's convinced it was made by a third gunshot."

"Won't do him a whole lot of good without a bullet." Gibbs shrugged. And he knew that he'd done enough damage gouging it out of the wall with his knife that they would never be able to match the size to any calibre.

"What the hell happened, Jethro?"

There was an element of censure in Morrow's tone and Gibbs knew he was on dangerous ground. However justified the Director could not be seen to countenance anything that might be seen as a revenge attack. He had the reputation of the Agency to consider.

"It was a clean shoot. I came in just after DiNozzo Snr had put Tony on the floor. He was still armed and when I challenged him, he turned the gun on me. Tony shot to save my life." Gibbs justified.

"He doesn't usually miss," Morrow raised a brow. "You sure you know nothing about that?"

Gibbs sighed. He could see how bad it looked. Morrow knew as well as he did that he wouldn't have hesitated to knock Tony on his ass if he thought it would save the younger Agent's career. If this thing went to court or even IA there would be hell to pay.

"He had a concussion, Tom. Not to mention two bullets in the chest at point blank range."

"About that," Morrow frowned. "He's refusing to press charges."

Gibbs sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You don't seem surprised."

"No," Gibbs agreed. "Do we have enough other evidence to put DiNozzo Snr away?"

"For a few years," Morrow sat back in his chair. "Not enough to make up for what he did to all those people he cheated out of their life savings, never mind what he did to his own son."

"You let me worry about Tony."

"He won't thank you for throwing away your career." Morrow warned.

"I know," Gibbs face twisted. "Ducky already gave me that lecture."

"Good," Morrow approved. "I don't want to lose you or DiNozzo over this."

"Duely noted, Sir."

Gibbs cut the connection and looked at his watch. It was time. He had his own plans for DiNozzo Snr.

* * *

Tony knew there was a reason he hated taking pills. He always slept too long and woke up feeling like his head was stuffed with cotton wool and his mouth was full of sawdust. To make matters worse, no-one had heard from Gibbs, Kate wouldn't stop talking and now the Hospital was trying to poison him.

"Tony, are you even listening to me?" Kate demanded.

"You want me to press charges," Tony parroted distractedly, as he poked at his dinner. "I don't even know what this is supposed to be." Taking a cautious forkful he chewed slowly, his expression morphing into something akin to disgust.

"Well?" Kate demanded.

"Might be chicken," Tony mused. "Or rattlesnake. Can't really tell."

"Tony, not the food! The charges. A few dirty business deals isn't enough to convict him as a murderer. Especially not of his own son."

"Even the jello's green." Tony ignored her.

"Caitlin my dear, perhaps we should save this discussion for another time?" Ducky murmured. "When Jethro is around?"

"I just think ..," Kate bit her tongue as Ducky's words registered. Of course, Tony would be more worried about Gibbs than his father. Privately she thought it would have helped if her Boss had let them know what he was planning. But she kept those thoughts to herself.

"What's wrong with green jello?" She asked, genuinely curious now.

"No-one eats the green stuff."

"I do."

"Hey," One of the FBI Agents stuck his head through the doorway, a smug grin on his face. "You guys might want to catch the news."

Tony had already dropped his fork and picked up the remote, surfing through the channels until Gibbs' face filled the screen. With a feeling of dread he turned up the volume.

"And in breaking news, Federal Agent Leroy Gibbs has been placed under arrest. As yet the FBI are refusing to confirm the charges, but our sources say that it they are connected to the shooting incident on Thursday night at the Lakeside Condo rented by the millionaire industrialist Anthony DiNozzo. Staff at the Condo say Mr DiNozzo is presently away on business and was not available to speak to this reporter."

Kate stood open mouthed. She couldn't believe what just happened. She wasn't sure what worried her the most, the fact that the FBI had arrested Gibbs, or that her Boss had let them.

"Oh dear." Ducky murmured.

"Give me a hand with these, will you Ducky?" Tony was already tugging at his IV.

"Tony, wait! You shouldn't leave the Hospital." Kate worried.

"You saw Gibbs."

"I know, and he's really pissed but .."

"Its much worse than that, Caitlin. I'm afraid he actually looks rather pleased with himself," Ducky had already deftly removed the lines in Tony's arm, now he lifted the edge of the sheet as he prepared to remove the catheter. "My dear, would you mind?"

Scowling her frustration, Kate spun on her heel, crossing her arms. Why couldn't she get this right? _She _was supposed to be the profiler and she couldn't even tell if Gibbs was pleased or pissed, awake or faking.

"If he's so happy why are you both looking so worried?"

"Kate, name, four things that make Gibbs happy." Tony's voice said.

"Coffee, his boat, shooting bad guys and redheads."

"Do you see any redheads around here?"

"And the boat's back in DC." Kate began to catch on.

"Plus the FBI make lousy coffee," Tony winced slightly as he turned himself around to sit on the bed. "Ducky, call Abs and see if she can get a trace on the tracker on my father. Kate, get the car."

"Wait!" She turned around. "We're going after your father? What about Gibbs?"

"You have your orders, Agent Todd."

Very carefully, Tony eased himself off the bed, wincing slightly as his bare feet hit the tiled floor, then he began padding determinedly towards the door, dressed only in his Hospital gown.

"And where are you going?"

Tony answered without looking back. But they could hear the wolfish grin in his tone.

"The FBI confiscated all my clothes as evidence. They owe me a suit."


	11. Chapter 11

By the time Kate brought the car around DiNozzo was standing on the sidewalk, dressed in an ill fitting suit, talking to Abby on an unfamiliar cell phone, with Ducky hovering at his elbow.

"Do I want to know how you got those?"

"Not unless, you want to be charged as an accessory."

He climbed, carefully, into the car, schooling his expression as the movement jarred his ribs. Kate frowned, although he had been cleared for the concussion his ribs wouldn't heal properly if he insisted on pushing himself too fast too soon. And it had only been a matter of days since he had taken a bullet to the shoulder.

"Tony, maybe this isn't such a good idea."

He ignored her in favour of listening to whatever Abby was telling him. The light tap on her shoulder surprised her and she twisted to see Ducky leaning forward from the back seat, his gaze steady.

"I fear that this little excursion, arduous as it may be, is essential to ensuring his full recovery," He murmured softly. "Think of it as therapy."

"I don't know Ducky," Kate whispered back. "Wouldn't he be better off just seeing a physical therapist?"

"Not _physical_ therapy, my dear."

"Oh."

"Alright, Abs. Got it. Thanks. Yeah, I will. Bye," DiNozzo clicked the phone shut. "If you two are finished talking about me behind my back. We need to head north east."

The journey didn't take as long as Kate expected. And the modest villa didn't look like the sort of place that the millionaire Anthony DiNozzo Snr would be seen dead in. She winced at the unintended thought.

"You don't think that Gibbs ..?"

"You're right," Tony said shortly as he exited the car. "I don't think. Stay here."

Kate stopped short, more in surprise at the manner in which the words were delivered than in obedience to the actual order. As a former secret service agent she had made no secret of the fact that she thought she was just as good, if not better, than the ex cop. In her heart she had been slightly resentful of the fact that DiNozzo was the Senior Field Agent, assuming that the promotion had been earned by longevity. He'd never struck her as a natural leader.

Until today.

Still, he wasn't the boss of her.

Well, all right, with Gibbs out of action, technically he was. But she couldn't just sit here and let him throw away his career. Decision made, she went to get out of the car.

"Perhaps we should do as he asks, my dear." Ducky's grip on her arm was surprisingly firm.

"He might need back up."

Ducky looked at her, a keen eyed gaze that always reminded her of the forcible intellect behind that slightly eccentric exterior. "I'm sure that Jethro will have taken all necessary precautions. And as for young Anthony, he's not going to do anything foolish."

"You can't know that."

"Actually, I am quite sure. Anthony, isn't here to exact revenge on his father. He's here to ensure justice for Gibbs."

"Oh," Kate realised. "And for Gibbs to be released .."

"Anthony will need to persuade his father to confess his role in recent events. And as we both know, young Anthony can be _very _persuasive."

* * *

Holding his weapon at the ready Tony eased the next door silently open. The pungent smell that assaulted his nostrils was his first indication that this room was occupied. The ragged breathes and muttered curses were his second clue. As was the unsteady thump, thud, as the occupant, tied to the chair in the centre of the room, futilely struggled against his bounds. Keeping his gun in his hand he straightened up. 

"Having trouble with the knots?"

"G Gibbs?"

The stark fear in his father's voice afforded Tony a certain grim satisfaction. He knew that Gibbs hadn't been about to do anything illegal. Not here and now in the full glare of the media, FBI and local law enforcement. A few monthstime on a dark night in an anonymous town was another matter. Gibbs was a man trained to serve his country, who saw nothing wrong in using deadly forve to achieve that goal.

And so was he.

"Not exactly," Tony circled around the chair noting the look of surprise on his father's face as he levelled his weapon. "Hello, _Dad_."

The word was laced with sarcasm, deliberately designed to trigger memories of their last meeting, when he had stood frozen with shock and betrayal, looking down the barrel of his father's gun.

"You .. you're alive."

Tony blinked; it hadn't occurred to him that his father would think that he had actually killed him. But then DiNozzo Snr had been high on the adrenalin of putting two bullets in his chest rather than paying close attention to his surroundings. And he wasn't a NCIS officer. Or even a CSI. Hell, he didn't even watch that much television.

"There was no blood," Tony pointed out shortly. "I was wearing a vest."

"You knew?" His father's eyes narrowed at the very idea that his son had suspected a plot. "You couldn't possibly.."

"You want me to read you my resume? I'm a Federal Agent, Senior Field Agent on the team with the best closure rate in the whole NCIS. I take down scumbags like you for a living and I'm good at my job. You want to know what I know?" Tony challenged. "You better make yourself comfortable because it's going to be a dammed long list."

* * *

Two hours later Tony watched with an unreadable expression as his father signed a full confession, up to and including the attempted murder of his son. 

He couldn't bring himself to thank him.

Taking the list he went to fold it and put it in his pocket.

"It will never stand up in court," His father's voicesneered. "It was extracted under duress."

"Oh, this one?" Tony shrugged easily. "This one's just for me. At your age it's better not to take any chances. You know what they say. The memory is the first to go. This way I'll know if you forget anything or _anyone_ you destroyed when you talk to the FBI."

"And if I choose to say nothing?"

"Then Gibbs will go to prison and I will kill you."

His father laughed, a hollow mocking sound, that had haunted Tony throughout his childhood, every time he failed to live up his father's expectations, which was pretty much all of the time. "You already tried that. You don't have the guts to stand up to me. All you ever do is run from your problems."

With an icy calm Tony stepped forward and grasped his father by the hair, forcing his head back, as he used his other hand to push the muzzle of his gun into his throat.

"Now you listen to me, and you listen good. I don't much care what deal you and your fancy lawyers cut. A man like you won't last two minutes in a Federal prison. But I'll be dammed if I'll let you ruin a good man like Jethro Gibbs, so you talk or you die. And I'll be watching you. There isn't a place on this earth you can hide from me. If you _ever_ do anything to hurt Gibbs or anyone else ever again I will personally see to it that you are a dead man and you will never even see it coming. Do you understand?"

"Y - Yes."

"Good," Tony patted his face, his teeth drawn back in a feral smile as he straightened up.

"W Wait." His father protested. "You can't just leave me here."

"Just watch me."

With an immense feeling of satisfaction, he drew back his fist and let fly, hearing the satisfying crack of bone and cartilage as the man's large nose broke, flattened, and spread across his face.

"That's for Gibbs."

Turning on his heel he ignored the primeval cry of pain as he made his way out into the sunshine. Raising his eyes to meet Kate's he consciously blinked away his weariness. With Gibbs out of the picture he was in charge. Had to look the part.

"Call the FBI, tell them we have a package for them. Give them the co-ordinates."

"We're not staying?"

"No," Tony was already walking towards the car. "Let the FBI take out the trash for once."

* * *

"_I'm coming to you live from the Las Vegas Field Office of the FBI here on East Charleston Boulevard where our sources say millionaire Anthony DiNozzo has pleaded guilty to numerous charges of fraud and embezzlement .."_

Kate scowled and turned her back on the reporter as she continued to do her piece to camera. Picking her way through the small crowd of media she finally spotted Tony sitting on the edge of the sidewalk.

"Here, I thought you could use this," She offered him one of the coffees in her hand. "Three sugars, right?"

"Thanks." He flashed her a weak smile and accepted the cup. But he didn't drink from it.

"Look, Tony, I .." She faltered. Despite her best efforts, he had been silent all the way back from the Villa and frankly she was worried. She'd never seen him like this. She would happily endure a little teasing about caring about him, if it would get him to open up a little But she had no idea where to start.

"That for me?" The owner of the voice snagged the other coffee out of her hand and she looked up to see Gibbs taking a long swallow before she even had a chance to protest. Smacking his lips in satisfaction he sighed. "Too dammed long. FBI almost made me break my own record."

"The FBI rationed your coffee?" Kate teased. "Isn't there something in the Geneva Convention, about that?"

"If there isn't there should be." Gibbs took another satisfied gulp.

"So, does this mean you're a free man? Or did you just sneak out for a caffeine hit?"

"FBI never had a leg to stand on once DiNozzio Snr started singing,"

"You just walked right up to them and asked them to arrest you didn't you?"

"Pretty much," Gibbs didn't try to hide the fact. "I sure as hell wasn't about to let DiNozzo be the victim in any of this."

"So, you set yourself up as the fall guy, knowing that Tony would go to the bat to get your ass out of the fire."

"You profiling me, Agent Todd?"

"No, I'm just saying, that you knew that if you rode in to the resuce and scared Tony's father off yourself he might never have got over any of this. But if he took down his father to save a friend, at least he would be able to live with himself."

Gibbs' eyes went unerringly to where Tony sat. "So, how's he doing?"

"Not good," Kate admitted. "He hasn't touched his coffee."

"Shame to let it go to waste," Gibbs crumpled his now empty cup and dropped it in a nearby trash can, before striding over to DiNozzo and simply plucking the second cup out of his hand. Tony didn't even look up. With a sigh, Gibbs settled himself down beside him.

"Nice suit."

That got him a reaction at least

"Morrow is probably writing the reprimand for my file as we speak."

"Field Agents are supposed to improvise," Gibbs dismissed that. "And since you closed the case for them, I think the FBI has to roll over on this one."

"We done here, Boss?" Tony's voice didn't hold out much hope.

"You know the drill, DiNozzo."

Tony sighed. SOP stated that he would have to be cleared by the attendant psychologist before he returned to duty. Gibbs' law said he could bullshit the shrink as much as he liked but his Agents had dammed well better tell him the truth.

"I aimed to kill," Tony admitted softly. "I'm not proud of that. But I'm not sorry either."

"He was an armed suspect," Gibbs strove for dispassionate. "Its what you're trained to do."

"I guess, I'm lucky that he's such a lousy shot," Tony shrugged. "He had a clear target. If he had hit my shoulder again, I would have been out of commission for at least a month."

"If he had shot you in the head you would have been out of commission permanently." Gibbs said shortly.

"There is that."

Tony's expression darkened and Gibbs' mentally kicked himself for the none too subtle reminder that his own father had deliberately tried to kill him. As if his role in bring him into this life gave him the right to end it when he didn't live up to his expectations. He was supposed to be cheering him up.

"This is why we keep Abby around." He remarked, ruefully.

The corners of DiNozzo's lips quirked as he heard the apology Gibbs hadn't given, just as his Boss had intended. Gibbs took advantage of the slight thaw and decided to press a little further.

"You could have told him, you already knew about Shannon and Kelly."

Tony shook his head decisively. "I told you no-one would ever know what I knew and I keep my promises, Boss. Its not like I found out by fair means. If I had known .." He trailed off, offering Gibbs an apologetic look.

"You did nothing wrong," Gibbs' tone was firm. Truth be told he had been as impressed as hell when he had discovered that his new Agent had had him checked out and done such athorough job. "You do background checks on all your prospective bosses?"

Tony looked sideways at him, arching one eyebrow curiously. Gibbs pretended not to see the lines of strain around his eyes and the hollow, sunken cheeks.

"You never asked before."

"No, I didn't," Gibbs agreed evenly "And you didn't answer my question."

"You met Bartholomew." Tony offered, as if that was an answer.

And in a way it was. Tony's Captain in Homicide at Baltimore had been a straight talking former beat cop. What you saw was basically what you got. Gibbs on the other hand, had been something of an enigma. They had butted heads over the investigation but after two weeks Tony had suspected he would follow this man to hell and back. That had been both reassuring and terrifying.

He'd wanted to be sure.

"I'm assuming I passed," Gibbs wasn't looking at him. "Although, I'm dammed if I know what you were looking for."

Tony could do this now. Sitting in the gutter in an off the peg suit that was two sizes too big and smelled strongly of stale body odour next to the man who had stood firmly at his back throughout this whole dammed mess.

"Yeah," He said softly. Not looking at Gibbs either. "You do."

A hand, warm and strong, reached out and cupped the back of his neck, squeezing gently.

"Yeah," Gibbs' voice agreed. "I guess I do."

* * *

That's all folks, thank you all so much for joining me on my first journey into NCIS world. New story "Trial and Tribulations" coming soon! 


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